Lose Myself
by LetSparksFly
Summary: With Klaus on one end and James on the other, Adele Gilbert feels trapped. Can she stay strong and overcome extreme odds or will she lose everything she's worked so hard to protect, including the man she loves? Damon/OC. Sequel to What Doesn't Kill You.
1. Chapter 1

**Oh My Gosh! It's finally here! I've wanted to get this up for almost a month now and now it's finally here. The Sequel to What Doesn't Kill You, ****Lose Myself!**** Woot Woot! Ten cookies for me! :p **

**Anywho, I hope you all like it. It's only the first chapter so please keep that in mind while reading if you think nothing exciting enough happened or you didn't think it covered enough. **

**And please, please review. Reviews are what keep me going and I would like a lot of them this go around. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC's sadly. **

**Chapter 1: The Birthday**

His lips brush across the back of her shoulder and she reaches back to swat at his head causing him to laugh, the noise vibrating through her back and making her giggle. "Come on Damon, we're supposed to be watching this."

"Why?" He groans out his head falling back to hit the head board of the bed. "We've both seen it more than once. It's so long." His arms tighten around her and she tilts her head up to look at him.

"If you're forgetting, this was your idea." She reminds him and he huffs sending her a small pout that if she's willing to attempt is pretty adorable.

"It was your idea actually."

"Yeah like 2 months ago and I was sleep deprived." She tells him and he sends her a grin that has her thinking she shouldn't of said that.

"Are you saying you're don't want to watch the movie?" He leans forward in an attempt to kiss her but she places a finger to his lips making him raise his eye brows at her.

"That's not what I'm saying. I happen to like this movie. It's an epic romance as tragic as it ends." He nods slowly and she shirks when he flips her over, she lands on her stomach and makes a quick attempt to crawl away before he's hovering above her, pinning her down.

"Damon…" She scolds throwing her arm out reaching for the remote to the DVD player. "When I get that remote I'm going to hit you with it." She warns and he chuckles darkly, running his fingertips across the skin of her lower back, her tank top having lifted in her attempts to wiggle away.

Her phone rings and she successfully wiggles away crawling across the bed to the bedside table where she picks it up and slides the bar across to answer it. She places it to her ear only to shirk as Damon wraps a hand around her ankle and yanks her back to him. She flips over onto her back as he moves over her.

"Adele?" The voice on the other end calls and Adele turns her head away from Damon as he tries to kiss her making him kiss her cheek instead.

"Hey Elena." She says loudly in hopes that Damon would quit instead he looks down at her a smirk playing on his lips and she almost groans.

"Is everything okay?" Elena asks her voice hesitant.

"Yeah." She breathes as he bends his head down to brush his lips against her neck. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering if you'd be home tonight. Well Alaric was wondering I volunteered to ask." Adele pulls her phone away to glance at the clock. It's close to 8:30. She squeaks biting back a moan as Damon's hand skims up under her tank up and a long her side his thumb brushing against the underside of her breast as he scraps his teeth against a sensitive spot on her neck.

"Uh…No." She says as he begins to lift her tank top. "Probably not."

~x~

Adele places the blow dryer down and pulls a brush through her hair to get out the tangles before picking up the curler she had turned on next to it as she watches Damon pour the little bit of champagne he has left into his glass while he leans back in the bathtub with bubbles up to his shoulders. She rolls her eyes as he pouts placing the bottle back down in the ice.

"We're out of champagne." He calls out drinking what little bit he has.

"No. You are out of champagne, I don't drink that stuff. You know that." She says curling a piece of her hair.

"Well would you be a dear and…"

"Nope." She cuts him off sending him a grin through the mirror. "I'm doing my hair, you can do it yourself." It's his turn to roll his eyes as he leans his head back trying to decide whether or not it's worth getting up.

He decides it is and pushes himself to stand up, glancing up at Adele and meeting her eyes through the mirror she merely smirks at him. He leaves the tub, letting himself drip all over the bathroom floor causing the blonde to sigh. "There's a towel right there." She mentions to the white towel hanging up near the tub. "You're dripping everywhere." She says as he's walking out of the bathroom and he sends her a lazy smirk. "I just cleaned these floors asshole." She calls as he's leaving the room and his laugh echoes down the hall.

She shakes her head and finishes her hair before a thought pops into her head and she leaves the bathroom with the towel he refused to take. She jogs down the stairs and makes her way into the living room where she stops looking between her sister and Damon who has a blanket wrapped around his waist. "I forgot to mention," She says to Damon as the two are staring at her. "Elena might be here."

"Thank you for the warning Kitten, it's greatly appreciated." He remarks causing her to grin as she enters the area coming up to stand beside him. "Elena was just telling me that Liz has given her another lead." He tells her causing Adele's blue eyes to regard her sister carefully.

"Yeah, in Memphis." She says shifting under her piercing eyes. "I was thinking Damon could go out there and check it out."

"Today?" Adele mummers and Elena nods. "Really Elena? It's our birthday."

"Yes and I had plans for your sister today none which include Memphis, Tennessee." He remarks causing Adele to narrow her eyes up at him. She'd told him no surprises but his eyes are so full of mischief as he looks back at her that she rolls her eyes and turns back to Elena with a shake of her head.

"Fine." Elena huffs. "I'll go myself." She stomps her foot like a child and makes her way past them but Adele quickly reaches out snatching the piece of paper from her.

"Now, now" She scolds her and Elena crosses her arms and rolls her eyes. "No need to throw a tantrum. He'll go." She passes the paper to Damon who rolls his own eyes in frustration while taking it from her. "Klaus thinks you're dead." She points out. "Let's keep it that way." Elena sighs nodding. "If he finds anything he'll call." That was Elena's cue to leave but she doesn't seem to take the hint as she opens her mouth to say something so Adele pushes Damon lightly to the side and he begins his way back to the stairs with her following closely behind him.

~x~

Damon opens a closet door once there back in his room. "So he's moved on to Tennessee." He mummers as she comes up behind him placing her hands on his shoulder and her head on her hands as she gazes at the marked up US map hung up on the back of the door. He pins the note up on the map as she looks it over thoughtfully.

"Didn't Andie say something to you about that victim in Florida having family in Tennessee?" She voices her thoughts causing Damon to tilt his head slightly.

"The one in Pensacola?" She mummers a yes and he smirks tilting his head slightly to look at her. "Are you up for a road trip?"

"You know it." She smirks leaning up and kissing him gently before pushing off of him and skipping away towards the bed. He turns watching her closely. "You should call Andie; see if she can't get you an address."

"You know I was reluctant when you said to pretend to keep seeing her but now I see your motive behind it. You are a twisted little bitch Adele Gilbert." She laughs sitting on the edge of the bed and crossing her leg over the other. She sends him an innocent smile. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You know I'm surprised she hasn't caught on yet." He mummers as he moves to his dresser. "She used to come over almost every night and now she never comes over, I just take her out every so often and call her when I need information. You'd think she'd wonder what was going on." He thinks out loud.

"Are you sure she hasn't said anything to you and you've just compelled her to think you guys are the happiest couple around?" Adele teases but Damon freezes looking over to her his expression blank.

"You know…that might've actually happened." He mutters and Adele snorts. "But I know everyone around town's noticed the shirking relationship between Andie and I and the growing relationship between us. Someone must be putting facts in her head."

"Isn't it thoughts? Someone must be putting thoughts in her head?" Adele asks sending him a narrowed glance.

"Not in this case." He mummers moving onto his closet to pick out something to wear.

"She's probably in denial." Adele calls out as he moves into the bathroom. "She doesn't want to face the fact that she knows your relationship is coming to an end, she's going to try and drag it out, it'll be better when you guys break up. Just make sure you stay friends."

"Why is that?"

"Because you care about her, maybe not in the way you care about me…"

"I don't care about you Adele, I love you there's a huge difference." He peeks around the corner at her and she rolls her eyes at him ignoring the butterflies that arise at his declaration.

"You care about her as a friend which means you need to keep her as a friend. I'm sorry to break this to you Damon but you don't have many friends that actually like you for you."

"What a way to sugar coat it Kitten." He jokes coming back into the room completely dressed and looking ready to leave.

"You're an evil bastard," She teases as he comes to stand between her legs. He cups her face in his hands. "And you know it." He leans down, kissing her softly. "But I love you anyways." She mummers against his lips causing him to grin, she pulls away from him as he tries to deepen the kiss. "We don't have time for that. We need to go."

~x~

She's lying back on the seat in the back of Alaric's Sliver Chevy Tahoe, after prying herself away from Damon he had made the brilliant decision to involve Alaric in his plans for a road trip as well like they had done every other chance they got. It had become sort of retinue for them, they'd get a lead whether it would be a dead end or not and they'd call up Alaric and the three would set out on an amazing adventure.

"He's doing good; you know I think he's getting the hang of everything. He's adjusted really well so far." Jasmine is telling her over the phone, she'd called wishing her a happy birthday and Adele made sure to ask about Michael since she wouldn't be able to go and see him today. Not with this sudden road trip and the huge party Caroline was deciding to throw later. She's been really good about getting over to see him once a day.

"No more accidents?" Adele was referring to a night a couple weeks ago where Jasmine had cut her hand making dinner and he had almost attacked her and it was an almost only because with Jasmine being a witch she was able to fend him off, if it wasn't for her special aneurism power she'd probably be dead. "He's getting better with his urge to rip your throat out?"

"Yes. I think. He doesn't stop breathing when I lean against him or hug him anymore so I think he's getting the hang of his self-control. You know I wasn't sure about Nate at first but I really do like him. He's been amazing you know? A really big help."

"Yeah," Adele huffs. "He's a really big pain in the ass is what he is." Jasmine can't help but laugh. The two had been at each other's throats since they met it would seem. Nate just loved to make her mad. He seemed to get the biggest kick out of it and his calling her Princess really helped him out. She hated the nickname.

"Have you heard from Justin?" Adele sighs, running a hand over her forehead. She can feel the car slowing down but it hasn't stopped just yet.

"Briefly, he's obsessing. I guess I can't blame him, James must be livid. He has to be planning to come after him. He's not just going to let him go. Justin wants to beat him; he wants to be one step ahead. He just…he needs to take a deep breath. I've tried talking to him but he won't listen to me."

"Well if Nate can't get through to him I don't think anyone can." Jasmine points out and Adele knows it to be true. Nate was the closest thing Justin had to family and even he couldn't get him to slow down. The SUV stops and she props herself up, glancing at the ranch style home that they've stopped at. "Alright Jazzy, I got to go. I'll talk to you later.

"Yeah, okay and hey Happy Birthday again. I'm sorry you don't get to spend it _alone_ with Damon, making up for lost time and all." Adele laughs at her suggestive tone casting her eyes over to Damon who is exiting the SUV. "Believe me Damon and I are making up for lost time just fine, one day won't hurt us." Jasmine laugh rings through before she hangs up. Her door opens as she's sliding towards it and she lets Damon take her hand to help her down like the gentlemen he was raised to be. He just didn't seem to be able to shake that part of his past.

He laces their fingers together pulling her toward Alaric who is staring up at the two story house. Her phone buzzes softly in her free hand and she looks down at it, ignoring the call before slipping it into her back pocket. "Elena?" She looks up toward Alaric and nods. "I don't know why you just don't come clean and tell her where we are."

"Because this could just be another dead end or a half lead, we don't need to get her hopes up and I don't need her bitching at me because she wanted to come." Adele explains.

"Yeah, well they're all half leads or dead ends, and I'm your guy's accomplice. What do you want me to say to her, I'm practically living at you're house." Adele rolls her eyes at him, he didn't have to stay not that she didn't like having him there because she did. Actually she felt a lot better knowing he was there but nobody was forcing him to stay and she knows that he doesn't want to leave. He likes being there with them.

"Still sleeping on the couch?" Damon asks softly.

"Yeah." He turns back to Adele. "You know, I keep waiting for you guys to kick me out but you don't. I don't know why, it's not like I'm helping or anything."

"It's because we love you Ric." She tells him truthfully. "Elena and I just turned 18 today so yes technically you don't need to stay with us but we like having you there. We feel better with you there and we know that you like being there. We're not going to kick you out; you can leave as you please." She explains to him and he shrugs a shoulder leaving the three to look around the empty yard.

"It's quiet." Adele observes.

"Too quiet." Damon agrees pulling her forward by the hand and she follows after him towards the front porch of the house. She swings the door open stepping in before Damon but keeping a tight grip on his hand. Damon sticks one foot in and wiggles it around before a small barely noticeable smirk crosses his face. "Oh yeah." He mutters and Adele understands that whoever owns this house must be dead.

They slowly make their way further into the front hall, Adele taking in the smeared blood across the walls and the floor. She scrunches her nose. "I feel like I just stepped into a gore fest, like some twisted vampire horror flick."

"Our whole life is one big twisted vampire horror flick Kitten, get used to it." Damon remarks and Adele smirks over to him.

"But all great twisted vampire horror flicks have to include a romance of some kind." She says and he grins.

"You know, unless it ends tragically." Alaric mummers causing the couple to look over at him, he shrugs in a non-apologetic way.

They come to the living room, stopping just outside the doorway looking in. Adele's eyes widen, her mouth falling open slightly at the two dead girls sitting perfectly on the couch, blood everywhere. Adele wasn't even sure where the majority of it was coming from.

"Ugh. Vampire, for sure." Alaric says coming up behind them. Damon lets her hand go to enter the room slowly looking between the two bodies.

"Stefan, for sure." He counters.

"How do you know?" Adele asks softly following him slowly.

"It's his signature; there's a reason they call him the ripper." He glances back at her for a moment, he's actually regretting his desire to have her there, he wasn't fond of the idea of her seeing this side of his little brother. The two are close after all. "He feeds so hard he blacks out and rips them apart, but then when he's done, he feels remorse. It's the damndest thing," He can't help but chuckle slightly as he lifts a foot and pushes it against the knee of the dead blonde girl. "He puts the bodies back together."

Adele's eyebrows raise as her head falls completely off her shoulders, dropping to the floor. Damon glances back at them and she nods a small sarcastic smile crossing her pretty face. "How poetic, disgusting but poetic." She mutters and he shifts his eyes to Alaric who looks disgusted, in fact he looks ready to faint.

Alaric lifts his eyes to meet those of Damon's. "Back together?"

"Definitely Stefan." Damon nods.

~x~

Adele watches from the doorway of the living room as Damon begins pouring gasoline he'd found out back in a shed on and around the now covered bodies. While he was out looking for something to clean up the mess Adele had grabbed a few sheets and thrown them over the bodies for both her sake and Alaric's. Alaric still looked like he was going to be sick and Adele found the whole scene slightly disturbing.

"What are you doing?" Alaric asks from leaning a hand against the wall next to the door on the inside of the room.

"Covering their tracks." Damon answers, continuing to pour the gas around. "Clearly they have no interest staying in the dark, but I do."

Alaric moves away from the wall, further into the room but stops when the floor beneath him creaks loudly. Adele's eyes move to the floor before lifting to meet Damon's seeing the same curiosity burning through her as he looks back at her.

She moves forward, bending down and moving the rug out of the way revealing to them a trap door in the wooden floor. Adele smirks. "Oh, trap door." She sings gleefully. Traps doors always meant secrets and this was probably a secret they needed to know. She pulls it open peering down at the many different chains anchored to the cement wall.

Damon who is slightly behind her see them as well and of course draws the same conclusion as she does, she can see it reflected in the excitement that fills his icy eyes as she gazes back at him. "Well what do you know…" They look back down into what they can assume is the basement. "Werewolves."

Alaric closes the trap door with a thud rolling his eyes at the two as he pushes himself up. He lays a hand on the middle of Adele's back and pushes her along with him out of the room and into the hall to the point where she can't see much of the room and she frowns wondering what was up when the roar of a fire makes her jump, the glow illuminating on the walls and the side of Alaric's face. She swallows back the urge to run moving closer to Alaric's side without realizing it. He has no problem wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his side her fear of fire a well-known fact between her friends and family.

~x~

She swallows, her eyes roaming over her white dress once more as she decides that while earlier in the day the party that was in full swing down stairs sounded like an amazing idea to her, she wasn't actually in the mood. She didn't feel like celebrating. What was there to celebrate really? That she had survived another year…barely? She could name a handful of people who hadn't.

"You look beautiful." She lifts her blue eyes meeting his gaze through the mirror as he stands behind her. "So why are you still standing up here?"

"Just trying to work up the will power to get moving." She mutters adjusting the clips in her hair though they are already set perfectly. She was stalling, stretching out the time until she knew she'd have to leave the room. He sees this and moves forward, where he wraps his arms around her midsection and loving the way she melts into him.

"There is a house full of high school students down there waiting for you to make your arrival. Elena's already down there." She meets his gaze in the mirror. She tilts her head and he sighs reaching behind him to pull something from back pocket. "I have something for you."

"Damon, I told you no presents." She scolds a small scowl on her face.

"What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't get my girlfriend something for her birthday?" She continues to scowl and he blows out a breath of air. "I love you okay? Let me do this."

"Fine." She grins. "What is it?" Excitement brightens her eyes and he grins back. Holding the small case out in front of her, Adele inspects it closely before taking it. It's a Jewelry case just big enough to hold a bracelet. She opens it her eyes widening at the simple diamond bracelet. "Wow…Damon, it's beautiful." She swallows. "How much did this cost? I mean seriously? This is like…"

"No, no, no." Damon cuts her off taking the case from her and pulling out the bracelet. He unlatches it, grabbing her right wrist and wrapping it around where he latches it back up holding her wrist out for them to look at it. "It doesn't matter how much it cost, all that matters is that you love it."

"I do, thank you." She smiles softly before it turns suggestive and he narrows his eyes at her. "You know, we could always skip the party, we could stay up here and have our own personal party. Just the two of us." Her eyes are gleaming darkly at him. She looked positively alluring and dangerous and his breath catches slightly.

To suppress his sudden desire he nestles his nose into her hair inhaling deeply which is probably his worst idea ever. "You know we can't." His voice is rough, deepened and he winches slightly. He didn't need her knowing how much she was affecting him, she'd use it to her advantage and they'd never make it out of the room. She was manipulative that way; he knew that all too well. "You have to appear to your party guests and I have a "Girlfriend" I have to go pick up and woo."

Her smile falls slowly and her eyes narrow slightly. "Really? She's coming tonight?"

He inhales again and her sweet intoxicating smell over rides all his senses as he mummers a yes into her neck as he feels that all to familiar burn starting at the back of his throat. With a jolt he realizes that his K-9's are poking at his bottom lip, as his hunger sets in. He hates when this happens, being with her made his self-control slip on many occasions, it had been a long time since he's found himself fighting so hard to hang on to what little self-control he could master up.

"Damon…" She mutters frowning at their reflection. His breathing has deepened going rigid and he's refusing to look up at her. It's hard to ignore his tense posture behind her and the way his fingers dig into her hips almost painfully. "Damon." She pries herself away from him with difficulty and turns, her concern expression turning into one of understanding before it turns slightly mocking as he's staring back at her all veiny eyed and extended fangs.

The first night they'd spent together, she'd been surprised by how quickly he was to pull away from her and turn his head. She'd learned why quickly when she pulled him back. She'd been awed by his "vampire" face. He'd looked every bit the monster he portrayed himself to be and she had realized that no, she wasn't normal because instead of thinking he looked terrifying, she thought because he was Damon he was just beautiful.

She steps up, lifting her hands and pushing them into his over grown hair. She presses a soft kiss to his lips being extra careful not to touch his fangs in anyway, her bleeding wouldn't help him much. She had thought about suggesting he bite her but knew he wouldn't. He wanted to, that she was sure of but he wouldn't because he wouldn't hurt her in any way possible. She pulls away from him and smiles, the veins under his eyes pulsing as he opens his bloodshot eyes to look at her as well.

"You should probably compose yourself before going back down there. Though it would be the highlight of my night to see some of those people down there run screaming for the hills I don't think Elena would apprentice it." His eyes narrow on her, her grin mocking. He turns her around pushing her out of the bathroom and she can hear him taking a deep breath causing her to laugh. "Your smell is everywhere." He groans out and she sits on the edge of the bed to wait for him. "Well I did just spend almost 2 hours in there getting ready." She points out. "It takes time to look this good Damon."

"The white dress looks amazing but I prefer you…"

"Damon…" She sings cutting him off because she just knows where he's going with that. "Is that imagery really helping your situation right now?"

"Screw you Kitten."

"Unfortunately I have Party guest I need to appear to." She mocks him once more and Damon appears in the bathrooms doorway, his eyes narrowed in on her. "You'll just have to take a rain check."

His face completely back to normal she sees the way his eyes flash dangerously and his motives hang clear in the air around them. She shirks bolting from the bed and crossing the room to the closed door. She gets it cracked open before it's slammed shut and she's lifted into the air with another small shirk. She's left feeling a bit winded when she hits the bed, Damon having tossed her through the air and used his speed to get to her before she could get up. He hovers over her, flashing her a wicked grin as he grips her upper thighs pulling them to wrap around his hips and he presses down into her as his lips meet hers in a hard kiss.

His lips leave hers momentarily to trace along her jaw. "Damon…" She moans, one hand fisting into the back of his shirt, the other tangling itself into his hair. "We can't do this." And yet she's pulling him closer, yanking lightly at his hair causing a deep growl to rumble through his chest as his lips move to meet hers again in a bruising kiss. Her fingers leave his hair trailing down to the first button of his shirt and popping it open easily. She gets three buttons undone before he's stopping her, pinning her hands above her head.

He pulls away from her and her eyes flutter open slowly. She's met with that smirk, the one that tells her he's got something on his mind, something she knows she's not going to enjoy. "You said it yourself…" She closes her eyes letting her head fall back against the mattress suppressing a groan as he stands. "We can't do this."

"You're a bastard." She mutters pushing herself up to a sitting position and he sends her a wolfish grin in return. She pulls herself up, steading herself carefully on her feet, her knees felt weak and she had a pair of 5 inch heels to slip into so with a couple deep breaths she calms her rapidly beating heart and meets his icy eyes which haven't left her since she's sat up.

She strolls over to the closet with an air of indifference disappearing from sight only to return to the doorway of the closet with a pair of white heels in her hands. She slips on one with ease and uses the doorframe to slip on the other. With her heels in place she walks back towards him and he notes her perfect runway worthy walk. He's seen so many try and fail to pull off heels that high.

She comes to a stop in front of him; her eyes now level with his being as tall if not just a hint taller now that she's added the extra height. She hooks a finger from each hand through two of his belt loops and pulls herself forward, pressing lightly against him. "You look flushed Kitten." He points out the smug tone not going unnoticed. She sends him a bright smile that has his grin wavering. "Don't worry babe." She whispers leaning up so her lips brush his. "Revenge is sweet." She lets him go brushing past him as she starts for the door.

"Are you coming?" She calls over her shoulder having noticed him standing there in the middle of his room as still as a statue. He jerks turning around and hurrying over to her. Her grin is wide as he lets her take his arm, avoiding her eyes at all cost.

~x~

"I just noticed how extremely short that dress is." Adele grins, casting her eyes over to Damon for a second before focusing back on the stairs. Damon sends a glare to the group of high school boys gathered along the stairs who stop talking to stare at Adele as they walk by.

"It's no shorter than the shorts I wore earlier or the dress I wore the other day." She points out to him. She calls out a thank you to a few students who call out a happy birthday to her.

"But the difference is you weren't surrounded by a house full of hormonally driven high school boys." He defends.

"No I was around a hormonally driven _and_ bloodthirsty vampire." She smirks as he glares playfully.

"Happy Birthday Gilbert!" Adele flashes a smile towards Jason who is standing in a corner full of jocks and cheerleaders. "Thanks Smallwood." She calls back, he sends her a wink to which she laughs before turning back to Damon as they stop walking in the entrance to the living room looking out over a sea of high school students, a lot of which Adele knew, some of which she didn't.

"You know if anyone touches you there dead right?" He asks his blue eyes serious, his lips pressed into a thin line.

"Possessive much?" She raises an eyebrow at him as he turns stopping a girl who was walking by with an unopened bottle of alcohol. He reaches out taking it from her. "You don't want that. You want the cheap young stuff over by the cheap young people." He turns back with the bottle in hand.

"Of you? Of course. I don't have any plans of losing you to anyone else especially not someone in high school." She smiles having the sudden urge to lean over and kiss him. She holds back, knowing it wouldn't be the wisest decision. "You're not going to lose me Damon. I'm yours, completely."

"Not completely." Damon looks away from her, glaring down at the blonde a head of them. Caroline steps forward, taking Adele's free arm in hers. "As of right now she's mine." She begins pulling her away but Adele stops turning back to look at Damon.

"I'll meet you in the room after the party." He sends her a smirk before he takes a swig out of the bottle in his hand. She turns to Caroline. "I love your idea of small Care." Caroline giggles pulling Adele into the crowd of people.

~x~

"Adele Gilbert." With her red cup full of coke and vodka up to her lips she turns her head to the left and chokes on the liquid as it's going down. She coughs hitting a hand against her chest as she hands her cup off to Jason who is standing next to her. "Hanna!" She calls pulling the laughing girl into a tight hug. "What are you doing here?" She asks as she pulls away.

"I'm down for a few weeks now that it's summer. I thought the first thing I'd do is come to a birthday party for one of my favorite girls. After all you did come down and see me." Adele laughs recalling her small trip to North Carolina and how mad everyone had been when she got back. "How's it going Smallwood?" Hanna turns her Hazel eyes to Jason.

"Awesome Cruz." Jason replies with a smirk.

"Where's Caitlyn? I thought you guys we're like attached at the hip?" Hanna glances around them not spotting the auburn haired girl anywhere. Jason shifts uncomfortably. "I was just about to ask him that." Adele says turning her bright eyes back to him.

"We broke up." He mutters.

"What?" Adele and Hanna exclaim causing Jason to flinch. "So in other words you just lied to me." Hanna points out to him. "Because if you and Caitlyn broke up you are definitely not awesome."

"Come on, I don't want to talk about this." He sighs running a hand though his short brunette hair. Adele sends him a sympathetic smile. "I'm going to go get something to drink." He mummers and they wave him off before Hanna turns to Adele with bright eyes.

"So whose house is this? I know it has to be someone you know. Nobody with this nice of a house would loan it to Caroline of all people to throw a party." Adele laughs lightly.

"It's Damon's."

"Oh! The older guy that came between you and Bruce, is he here?"

"Yeah. Somewhere around here." She nods looking around trying to spot him amongst the crowd though she figures he's not actually in the house. She has a feeling he's out on the back porch with Alaric. "Let's go find Caitlyn." She says. "I want to talk to her. She's probably with Lucy."

"You think she's here? I mean if they just broke up…."

"Oh no, she's here. I know she is."

~x~

They find Caitlyn and Lucy by the fire place in the Study. After talking a few minutes to catch up with Hanna Adele clears the Study of the very few people that we're actually in there and closes the door blocking the room off to the rest of the party.

She fills four glasses with a small amount of Bourbon and brings them over to the three other girls as they sit around the empty fire place. "God this place is huge. This is Stefan's place right? Him and his brother Damon live here?" Lucy asks glancing around and Adele nods taking a seat beside Caitlyn as she hands her the glass. "This is the good stuff." She assures her as she scrunches her nose at the glass. "It's not like the cheap stuff out there."

"Are you sure it's okay if we're drinking it?" Caitlyn asks.

"Damon has enough of this stuff to last us the next ten years I think he can spare some." Adele assures her.

"Oh." Hanna smirks in her direction. "You just said us. Does that mean you plan on sticking around for the next ten years here with this Damon guy?"

"Yeah, I thought you said nothing was going on between you two." Lucy speaks up taking a small sip from her glass and coughing. "Oh god, this stuff is strong."

"It's…it's complicated. You know he has a girlfriend and I'm only in high school…" Though it really wasn't as complicated as it used to be, Adele doesn't need them to know that.

"Your 18 now which means your free game plus from what I've seen when you two are together like when you came down the stairs, he doesn't feel half of what he feels for you with Andie Starr. The way he looks at you, it's like no woman in the world could compare. He looks at you like you're his world." Caitlyn explains.

"Are you serious? That's so sweet. I've got to meet this guy." Hanna exclaims drowning the Bourbon in one shot.

"Okay enough about my relationships, what about yours? What happened?" The three girls turn their complete attention to Caitlyn who bites her bottom lip softly.

"I don't know." She whispers with a huff pushing Auburn hair from her eyes. "We just got into a fight two weeks ago and the next thing I know I'm picking up my stuff from his house and giving him back his Jersey. I guess it's for the best I mean he wants to go to either Texas or California to go to school and I got a scholarship to Duke so we're going to be in two separate places after senior year anyways. If we'd stayed together I fear it just would hurt worse come graduation."

"Okay but let me ask you a question." Adele downs her drink before standing up and moving over to refill her glass. "Do you love him?"

"Well…yeah. I do but…"

"There shouldn't be a but okay? Recently I've learned that if you love someone you can't let something like fear stand in your way because when the time comes that you get the guts to act on your feelings it might just be too late."

"That's really insightful Adele." Hanna laughs and Adele sends her a grin as the door to the Study opens. The four girls turn in the direction and Adele holds her glass up to the new comer.

"Damon. Come to have a drink with us?" He looks between the unknown three before his eyes land on her and his smirk turns into a grin.

"There's nothing I want more then to stay and have drinks with four lovely ladies but I have a girlfriend I need to go pick up. I was just coming to look for you, noticed you disappeared on me."

"I closed off the study as you can see and I'm stealing your alcohol and I know you don't mind."

"I can't say that I do Kitten. Just don't get drunk without me. I'm leaving Ric here to look after the house while I'm gone. Have fun with my alcohol ladies. I'll see you later tonight Kitten." She tips her glass to him as she leans back against the table watching him leave quickly.

"Oh my god." Hanna exclaims after the door closed. "That was Damon? Okay now I understand why you would leave Bruce. If I had a boyfriend or a husband for that matter I'd leave him for that guy too." Adele downs her glass once more before sending a small smirk in their direction.

~x~

Adele can feel the effects of the alcohol stirring in her system as she listens to a story that Hanna is telling about one of her classes back at Duke. The study door opens again and Hanna pauses in her story as they glance up finding Elena peeking her head in, letting in the sounds of the party still in full swing around them. "Adele…can I talk to you for a minute?" Adele downs her drink setting it on the table as she pushes herself up.

"I will be right back girls." She says before following her sister out. Elena turns abruptly moving through the crowd of people towards the stairs and Adele freezes glancing between her disappearing figure and the study door. She sighs before quickly catching up to her sister.

Elena leads her into Damon's room where Caroline is standing in the middle of the room shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. She narrows her blue eyes at her best friend before gazing back at Elena who has walked up to the closet door and is now standing there with her arms crossed over her chest. "Okay…I'll bite." Adele smirks. "What's this about?"

Elena unfolds her arms and twist the handle of the closet door before quickly flinging it open revealing to them Damon's hidden map full of newspaper clippings and sticky notes. "Oh." Adele mummers. "That."

"So you do know about it? What is that?" Adele walks forward and closes the closet door softly before turning to her sister.

"Don't ask questions you already know the answers to. You're smarter than that." She says.

"You and Damon have been tracking Stefan without me. All summer from the looks of it." Adele runs a hand across her forehead closing her eyes briefly. "Why didn't you tell me? Why would you keep this from me?"

"Because Elena, you're obsessive and reckless." Elena opens her mouth only to close it again. "Damon and I haven't had one goddamn day without you coming in here and ranting about Stefan. Where is he? Is he okay? We have to find him! Yes Elena! We know. We have to find him. I couldn't even enjoy my birthday with the man I love because of this shit! You come in here with a lead that could have very well waited until tomorrow and then throw a fit when we tell you so threatening to go and do it by yourself like a child but what you don't seem to understand Elena is that Klaus thinks you're dead. We risked our own lives making sure you we're saved, Damon almost died!"

"Which is exactly why we're in this mess!" Elena exclaims cutting her off and Adele freezes. Caroline's mouth opens in shock as Elena seems to realize what she just said.

"What was he supposed to do Elena? Let him die?" Elena goes to answer but Adele cuts her off. "Shut up!" She snaps. "All we're trying to do is keep you safe, if Klaus knew you we're still alive who's to say he wouldn't come back and finish you off and then maybe even kill us for the part we played?" Adele laughs softly. "That's all we're trying to do Elena."

Adele begins her way to the door wanting nothing else to do with this conversion or her sister. "So I should be thankful that you kept the fact that you're tracking Klaus's victims from me?" Elena calls and Adele opens the bedroom door before turning back.

"That's just it Elena. They're not Klaus's victims. They're Stefan's."

~x~

Adele makes it back into the Study where the three girls are still sitting around laughing. Hanna stands as Adele enters holding up a piece of paper. Adele frowns as she walks forward. It's a drawn picture of a Raven standing on top of a skull with roses all around. In the corner in bold letters she sees the words Happy Birthday and smiles taking it, her bad mood lifted.

"Jeremy asked us to give it to you. Said he was leaving but he couldn't find you." She thanks them and quickly takes out her phone sending a quick text to Jeremy to thank him as well. As she's getting ready to put the phone away when it rings, she glances down at it and excuses herself to the other side of the room to answer it.

"Justin." She breathes a sigh of relief into the phone.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't mean to hang up on you so abruptly the last time I called." She leans back against the wall.

"It's fine. Really, I'm just glad you're okay. Where are you?"

"Illinois. Chicago to be exact." He answers.

"Chicago?" She sends a small reassuring smile to the group of girls who stop to look at her at her small outburst. "You went home?"

"Not exactly, I'm following a lead and it led me here. James has a few guys out here, I think he may even be here himself but I'm not sure." Adele visibly cringes at the name, it send a huge amount of anger and dread through her. Anger because the guy was a total bastard of a hunter claiming he was the good guy, yet he was the one who made Michael into a vampire and dread because one day she will have to face him and take him down before he can hurt anyone else. She's accepted it but hasn't quite moved on.

"Please be careful Justin. If James figures out you're following his tracks…"

"He's not going to find out. I learned how to track someone from my father before he died and he was a ten times better hunter then James could ever wish to be. I'll be fine. I just called to wish you a Happy Birthday."

"Okay. Thank you. Just please be safe." She whispers.

"I will. I'll keep you updated."

~x~

The party was still in effect as Adele makes her way up the stairs after Caroline forced her and her sister to play nice and blow out the candles on the massive cake she managed to get. She wasn't sure how long the party was going to go on but she didn't want to be a part of it any longer.

She walks into Damon's bedroom to find he's not there and she frowns. She knows he's back, the way Elena came busting into the room looking ready to cry gave that away and the fact that Damon actually made her cry made her suspect something happened, that and the fact Andie isn't there all pointed to disaster.

She jumps whirling around back into the hallway at the sound of a crash from further down the hall, towards Stefan's room. She glances back into the room debating on whether or not she should go look or wait in the room. She decides on the former as she moves forward.

She stops in the door way, her mouth falling open slightly as she blinks taking in the scene around her. Damon is standing bent over a table, his breathing rigid, the room was almost completely destroyed, tables broken and turned over, book shelves knocked over, book scattered everywhere.

"Damon…" Her voice is barely a whisper but he hears her as his head snaps up, his icy eyes burn into her and she barely has the chance to take a step back before he's in front of her knocking her back into a wall as his hands reach up to cup her face and his lips connect to hers almost instantly so hard she's sure her lips were going to bruise.

He lifts her up, wrapping her legs around his waist causing the hem of her dress to rise and bunch around her waist. She gasps against his lips as the air rushes past them. A door slams and Damon drops her onto a bed causing her to open her eyes, there back in his room and he's standing above her all rigid breath and wild eyed looking every bit the predator he is causing a deep shutter to run through her body as she pushes herself onto her knees reaching up to help him unbutton his shirt buttons. She pushes it off his shoulders roughly and it hits the flour as his lips meet hers once again.

**That's it. That's the end. (: **

**Did you like it? Was it everything you hoped it would be? Are you asking yourself why there wasn't more to it? What happened to the action right? Don't worry, it'll come. Let the story get going, I swear it'll get good. **

**Next Chapter: **

**Adele, Jasmine, Michael and Nate get a very unexpected and slightly unwelcomed surprise. **

**Elena goes running off to the Smoky Mountains.**

**And **

**We welcome everyone's favorite Hybrid into the story. **

**That is all I shall give you for now. –Evil Laugh- Until next time. (:**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is Chapter two for you guys. I wanted to get this up quickly because some stuff is beginning to happen around here, like the fact that I'm moving and I have to devote most of my time in these next few weeks to packing and all that wonderfully non-stressful stuff (Please note the sarcasm.) **

**I'll tell you what though; writing in the Adele/Damon fluff is seriously awesome. I love writing it. Lolz. And just a random thought here but there is something about Damon's hair in this season that makes him seem just that much sexier. I mean don't get me wrong, the long hair is amazing to but I don't know, he's just such a sexy guy no matter what. Even my completely straight and engaged brother thinks so, considering he hates the fact that his fiancé is in love with Ian Somerhalder too, says the he's way to pretty and he makes him feel insecure. Lmao! Whatever Little John, I'll make sure to be telling that to Jack when he's older. Lolz.**

**Anyways, I'm still going to be writing while I'm moving but I'm not going to be able to focus as much on it. I'll do my best though. **

**Shout outs over here: **

**SomebodyWhoCares: I know right? (;**

**MysticGirl200: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it and I'm glad you can't wait for more. Makes me feel like I'm doing something right. Lolz**

**helios101: I appreciate your honesty and I don't mind the fact that you skip over parts of the story, I figured people did that anyways. (: And I'm glad you like that she doesn't take crap from her sister because honestly I thought she was being sort of mean to Elena myself. Something I can't help while writing it would seem. **

**Guest: (**_**So so so good! Good luck with writing cube sequel :) )**_** Thank you! (:**

**lolsmileyface6: WEE! Thanks! (;**

**Guest: **_**(What. The action what's just getting started with Adele and Damon getting all hot and steamy. Add smutt. Update soon.) **_**I'm happy you think so and as for the smut, I'm not sure about that considering I don't know everyones feels on it and whatnot. **

**klandgraf2007: Thank you so much! You are awesomely fantastic! Lolz. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC's. Sadly. **

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Hybrid**

Adele traces a soft pattern on his exposed chest, her head rested in the crook of his neck and a leg thrown over his, as he traces the same pattern along her spine. She was content lying there, happy, happier then she's been in a while and though she knows Damon is happy as well, she knows something is bothering him, something happened to him that he's not telling her.

Despite the long day she's endured with her trip to Tennessee, the party and Damon attacking her, Adele couldn't bring herself to feel even the slightest bit tired. She was wide awake with questions she wants to ask.

The curtains are drawn the only light coming from one of the small lamps on the right bedside table. "Andie's dead." Her finger stops moving and she shifts her position in a way that allows her to look at him. "Stefan killed her."

"What?" Adele pushes herself to sit up, holding the sheet to her chest. "You saw Stefan?"

"Yep. He gave me far warning to stop looking for him. He compelled Andie to walk off a rafter and stopped me when I tried to save her. He's gone Kitten. He's not coming back." His voice is emotionless, his lips pulled into a thin line.

"Damon…" She swallows. "I'm sorry." He blinks surprise echoed on his face as he looks up at her. "I know you cared about her."

"You hated her." He reminds her and she scoffs.

"I didn't hate her, I hated that she had what I wanted, had what I thought belonged to me. I'm possessive; it's one of my worst qualities." She explains and he sends her a smile that doesn't completely reach his eyes.

"One more thing we have in common." He mutters before his smile falls and he sighs. "It doesn't matter anymore. Andie's gone and so is Stefan."

"We…can't just give up on him Damon." She whispers.

"That's the thing Adele. He wants us to. He wants us to say goodbye and to move on. So that's what I'm going to do. He wants to be the bad guy, fine let him." She shakes her head, bending down to place a kiss to the corner of his lips.

"You say that now." She mummers before standing from the bed dragging the sheet with her, she disappears into the closet and emerges 2 minutes later in a pair of tight black yoga shorts and a loose white tank top. "I'm going to go and clean up the mess that is now Stefan's room. You can sit in here and sulk." She leaves the room, blowing him a kiss before closing the door and heading down the hall to Stefan's room.

When Damon enters 10 minutes later in a pair of black sweat pants and a white V-neck t-shirt Adele is sitting in the center of the room having cleared the area enough for her to sit and is stacking books around her. She sends him a small grin that he rolls his eyes at. "What? You thought I was going to let you do this alone? Who'd move all the heavy broken furniture for you?"

"I think I could manage." She laughs and he shrugs a shoulder sending her a smirk.

"Okay, if you don't need me…" He begins to back track out of the room.

"No! Wait, come back!" She calls.

"Nope, it's too late." He yells and she hops to her feet dashing out of the room after him.

"Wait! No! I'm sorry!" She catches up with him grabbing his arm but he continues walking, pretending to pay her no mind. "Come on!" She huffs trying hard to dig her heels into the wooden floors but being as strong as he is, he just keeps walking dragging her with him. She lets him go finally, stomping her foot like a small child.

"Damon!" She whines.

"Kitten." He mocks throwing her a smirk over his shoulder as he enters the bedroom. She narrows her eyes chasing after him once more but instead of grabbing his arm, she jumps on his back. Not expecting the sudden attack he loses his balance and they topple to the floor, Damon landing with a grunt on his stomach and Adele landing on top of him, her legs straddling his waist and her arms wrapped around his neck.

"I should scream rape." He laughs, a laugh reserved only for her and sometimes if there drunk enough, Alaric and she giggles because it's such an amazing sound.

"Nobody would hear you, we're alone and your all mine to do with as I please."

"That sounds extremely promising." He breathes moving to his knees. She squeaks wrapping her legs fully around his waist and tightening her arms around his neck as he begins to crawl his way towards the bed.

"You're going the wrong way." She states and he stops. "You have to help me clean Stefan's room or you get nothing. That is the deal." He turns crawling towards the door. "That's what I thought." She mummers with a grin.

*VD*

Adele opens the apartment door expecting to be greeted by a snorting bulldog and a smiling witch but is surprised when she's greeted by neither. The apartment is deadly silent though she knows everyone is there if Michael's bike in the parking lot is anything to go by.

She closes the door swinging her keys around her finger as she ventures further in. "Okay…" She calls out. "I know you guys are here. What the hell…" She trails off, stopping in the entrance to the living room. She blinks slowly a few time before shifting her eyes to meet Nate's who is leaning against the far wall, tense and on guard.

"Adele!" Adele grunts with the impact of the small body ramming into hers, two thin arms wrapping tightly around her midsection. Adele gazes down at the small blonde girl in wonder, surprise and horror. "Jackie." She breathes out wrapping an arm around the girls shoulders as her gaze lifts to meet Nate's once more. He shakes his head, telling her that he has no idea.

Jackie Landon pulls away from Adele beaming up at her excitedly. "I've missed you so much Adele! I've missed you and Michael!"

~x~

Adele pushes her Aviators into her hair as the waitress brings their drinks setting the three sweet teas on to the table. Adele glances sideways at Michael who has yet to lift his own Aviators as he rips the straw open and brings his glass towards him. Though his expression is calm, Adele can feel the frustration rolling off him.

"So Jackie…" Adele turns her attention to the 12 year old blonde across from them. She beams up at Adele her black eyes shining brightly making her uneasy feeling melt away. "How is everything?"

"Good! Well, not really. I mean it's okay but the kids at school don't really like me very much expect for Brad, he's like the only friend that I have and Aunt Martha is never really around so I'm on my own most of the time and when she is around she's usually past out on the couch, she actually is the one who sent me here. She told me to pack my bags yesterday morning that I was coming here." She answers in the span of 10 seconds. Adele had forgotten how much of a talker Jackie Landon was; at the age 7 she had mastered the art of fast talking. She was a sweet girl despite the talking, shy at times which was the only times she was ever really quiet.

"So Aunt Martha just put you on a plane? No explanation?" Michael speaks up for the first time since arriving and Jackie nods brightly before she seems to remember something. She pulls a piece of folded up paper from the front pocket of her jean shorts and slides it across the table to them. Adele picks it up first to see that it's a typed message made out to Michael. She reads it out loud.

**Dear Michael, **

**If you're reading this then your sister has arrived safely. I'm sorry for the short notice but I had to send her to stay with you, my boyfriend has booked us a cruise that shall last the rest of the summer and I couldn't leave her home alone. **

**She has everything she'll need along with a few hundred dollars for expenses that you may not be able to cover. I know how hard you work for so little. I'll be in touch. **

**Love,  
Aunt Martha**

Adele places the note carefully in front of Michael who barely spares it a glance before crumbling it up and tossing it into the trash a few feet away. He rips a hand through his blonde hair as a response letting out a huff of air before finally pulling off his Aviators and placing them on the table. "So…Who's Brad?"

Adele leans forward to lean an elbow on the table as she rest her mouth against her open hand hiding a smile as Jackie jumps into a long speech about how Brad is 13 and a grade a head of her, how he sticks up for her and hangs out with her.

Adele jumps, spinning around in her seat as much as she could, almost topple over as a hand lands on her shoulder. With her heart beating hard against her rip cage she lets out a breath of relief when she sees it's only Damon. "Hey. Oh my god, you scared me." Jackie has since stopped talking and is staring up at Damon with wide black eyes along with Michael who is looking up with the same black eyes but narrowed into silts. Since his change and getting back his memory from the fair, he had a tiny bit of resentment towards Adele's new boyfriend. The guy seemed like a real prick but he obviously cared for Adele and as long as he treated her right, that was all that mattered to him.

"I can see that." The guys smirk is smug and Adele reaches out smacking him in the gut, he grunts more for show then anything as he presses a hand to the area. "You wound me Kitten." He sarcastically says and Adele rolls her eyes turning back around.

"Damon, you know Michael." She says crossing her arms; Damon places his hands on her shoulder rubbing softly.

"Yes." He replies. "I do. How's the…situation going?" He asks as politely as he can master, seeing as the guy is the first guy Adele ever loved. Michael turns back around as well placing his Aviators back on.

"It's going." He answers flatly. After a small conversion on the phone with Jasmine that Damon happened to catch half of, Adele was forced to tell him what was happening to Michael which in return led to the reveal of James and everything he's been putting her through since Tony. To say he was pissed would be an understatement but after explaining that she'd taken care of it –which was only partly true, he laid off taking her word for it, trusting her and for that she feels horrible but she wasn't about to tell him the truth not yet anyways.

"Well this is Michael's sister, Jackie." Adele mentions over to the cowering blonde. She glances up at Damon throw her hair which has magically appeared over her face. He sends her the friendliest smile he can, easing the girls unease slightly. "It's nice to meet you." She mumbles a response that he catches as "Y-you too." Before turning back to Adele.

"We have a small problem." He says and Adele frowns leaning her head back to look up at him.

"What kind of small problem?" She asks.

"A small…Elena problem." He shoves his phone into her face and she takes it reading the text from Alaric twice before handing it back.

"Well this was nice." She smiles. "But it looks like something has come up. Jackie, I'll drive you back to the apartment and Michael can follow us again. Damon you follow him." She stands from the table giving the two Landon's no time to say a word; they just follow behind her silently.

_Elena and I are going to the Smoky Mountains. I told her what I knew and Tyler informed her that there was a pack of werewolves down there and she's convinced we'll find Stefan if we go. Just thought you and Adele should know. ~Alaric_

~x~

"Where are you going?" Elena jumps spinning around with a hand to her chest. Adele raises an eyebrow at her sister who seeing that it's her begins to shift from foot to foot nervously.

"Alaric is driving me to the grill to meet up with Caroline." She answers smoothly and Adele smiles, a tight smile.

"Wearing that?" Adele is referring to Elena's back pack slung over her shoulder. "I don't think so. It looks to me like your getting ready for a hike, maybe through the Smoky Mountains." Elena's expression drops as she turns to look at Alaric who comes around to the side of the SUV that they are standing on.

"You told her." She accuses and Alaric doesn't even have the decency to look guilty.

"Yes I told her. I figured someone should know where we are, in case this plan of yours gets us killed." He says.

"Which is a very high possibility; do you have any idea what you're walking into? I've seen a fully shifted werewolf okay? There not exactly pleasant creatures." Adele takes a step forward.

"I have to go Adele. I have to see if he's up there, if he's been there. This could be it. We could find him." Elena argues.

"Did you not hear what happened to Andie Elena? Stefan doesn't want to be found!"

"He called me last night!" Elena exclaims causing Adele to shut her mouth as she was about to say something. Damon didn't tell her this. "So I have to believe that's not true." Elena goes on.

"Okay." Adele nods snatching the keys to Alaric's SUV from Elena. "Then it looks like we're hiking through the Smoky Mountains today."

~x~

"In a couple hours, the full moon's going to rise just above that Ridge. If Tyler's right, that's where the pack will be." Alaric explains to them pointing off to something in the distance.

"You we're a boy scout once upon a time weren't you?" Adele teases lightly to the history teacher who tells her to shut up and she laughs. "A boy scout slash vampire hunter." She says.

"Slash whiskey drinking all around lost cause." He calls back and Adele rolls her eyes. He can continue to say he's a lost cause but she knows better. He's just got himself into a bit of a slump at the moment. He'll bounce back, she knows he will.

They stop walking as Alaric bends down to one knee placing his backpack onto the ground to open it. Adele and Elena peers over his shoulder as he does, gazing at the amount of weapons he's come prepared with. "Wow. You come stocked." Elena says.

"Well we aren't exactly bird watching." Alaric reaches into a side pocket pulling out a homemade grenade filled with some kind of greenish liquid.

"Vervain grenade?" Elena asks.

"Wolfs bane." Alaric corrects as he holds one out to Adele who declines.

"I have a fully loaded gun along with a stake, I think I'm okay." She says and he shrugs placing the grenade back in the backpack before standing up. "But since we're exchanging gifts." She reaches into her pocket pulling out a large tacky looking ring and holding it up to Alaric who looks at it with narrowed eyes.

"That's John Gilbert's ring." Adele visibly flinches at the mention of her biological father who just recently died giving his life for Elena's during Klaus sacrifice to become the all-powerful vampire werewolf hybrid.

"I know." She answers. "He gave it to me in a letter and I figured it was yours once so take it."

"He gave it to you." Alaric argues and Adele huffs.

"You know damn well I'm not going to wear something this tacky. If I'm going to die, I'm going to die looking good, that's just the way it's going to be." She says and it's Alaric's turn to flinch. He's not in the right frame of mind to think about Adele dying, he'd never be in the right frame of mind to think about that.

"Adele…"

"Alaric, take it. Please. I'd feel bad if this got you killed before happy hour." She remarks with a smirk and he can't help but smile at the blonde as he reaches out to slowly take the ring. "John knew I was going to give it back to you anyways." She informs as he slips it on. "His only wish was that you give it back when you're done with it."

"Of course." He whispers and Adele sends him a small smile.

"I have no idea why you think you're a lost cause." She says after a second of silence and he's about to respond when Elena's shrill scream has them whipping around, Alaric with a raised cross bow and Adele with her hand on her gun at the waistband of her jeans. They sigh in relief when it's only Damon leaning against a tree as he watches Elena flop around in the water below them having pushed her off the cliff she was previously standing on. She surfaces staring up at him with wide brown eyes.

"Damon!" She shirks. "How are you even here?" Alaric and Adele walk up, standing beside Damon.

"Thanks for the tip, brother." Damon directs to Alaric.

"You sold me out! Again!" Adele shakes her head.

"No. He sold you out once. I was sent first to see if I could convince you to abort your mission and since I failed, Damon is here to forcefully drag you home." Adele explains and Elena's turns her eyes back to Alaric who merely shrugs, not at all apologetic.

"Get out of the water Elena." Damon calls down to her.

"If I get out of the water, you're going to make me go home." She says.

"Yes because I'm not an idiot like you." He snaps.

"Right now you're both acting like idiots." Alaric says as he walks away from them and Adele snorts a laugh.

"You gave up on him Damon." She looks at Adele. "You both did." Adele rolls her eyes, if she'd given up she wouldn't have spent the rest of her night cleaning up his room, though she agrees that this, this is not the way to do it. Elena was putting herself and the ones around her –that being her, Alaric and now Damon, in more danger then she seems to realize or care about. If anything this was boarding on selfish and careless and if anything happened to anyone of them Adele wasn't sure what she'd do, she was already annoyed with Elena.

"I didn't give up on him, Elena. I faced reality. Now get out of the water."

"No!"

He walks forward. "What's your big plan Elena?" Jumping down from the small ledge he begins his way into the water having every intention to drag her out. "Huh? You going to walk through a campsite full of werewolves, roast a marshmallow, and wait for Stefan to stop by?" He stops in front of her.

"My plan is to find him and help him. Damon this is the closet we've been to him since he left, I'm not going home."

"Klaus thinks you died when he broke the curse that makes you safe, this," He waves his arms around mentioning to where they we're currently standing. "This is not safe."

"I'm not leaving before we find him." She insists.

"It's a full moon tonight Elena."

"Then we'll find him before then." She says with pleading brown eyes but Damon isn't budging. "Please Damon." He turns around, looking up at Adele who is standing along the ledge looking even more frustrated than he feels as she throws her arms up turning away from them.

"Fine!" He snaps looking back towards Elena. "But we're out of here before the moon is full and I'm werewolf bait."

"I promise." Elena agrees eagerly.

~x~

"How are you doing?" Damon says after they've been walking for a while, well after Alaric, Damon and Elena have been walking for a while, Adele had taken the first chance she got to jump on Damon's back telling him that this wasn't her idea, that her boots can't afford the kind of punishment that hiking well give them. He has easily carried her along for an hour now.

"Fine." Elena responds.

"You know I could help you." He says tightening his grip on Adele's legs. "Just one little whoosh."

"Yeah, with my luck you'd drop me." Elena remarks.

"I haven't dropped your sister, though the idea is tempting." He teases and Adele bites his neck hard enough to almost draw blood and he hisses. "Ow. I'm kidding. Jeez, so abusive."

"What are you guys? 12?" Alaric calls from behind them.

The four are completely unaware of Stefan, watching them from the trees.

~x~

They weave through trees, dodging fallen branches and roots as they go, Adele trails behind Damon, in front of Elena having jumped off his back a while back, the sun was slowly sinking if the fading light was anything to go by.

"We got about a mile left." Alaric tells them.

"The sun's about to set." Damon sings, the comment directed at Elena.

"I can see that Damon." She snaps.

"I'm just saying."

"The moon doesn't reach its apex for a while." Adele speaks up. "We have time."

A twig snaps from somewhere around them causing the four to slow down, eventually coming to a stop as another twig snaps. Alaric lifts his bow as Adele reaches for her gun as a man appears from within the trees, looking dazed and confused. Adele scrunches her nose at the massive amount of blood this guy has on him, all of which seems to belong to him. Some of it looks to be coming from his eyes. "Stay where you are." Alaric calls and the guy stops, looking up at them.

"Vampire." He growls out and Adele glances up at Damon who tilts his head with hard eyes as the man comes at him, he throws his hands up stopping his movements and holding him at arm's length, with the speed of a vampire the guy whips them around throwing Damon's back against a tree as he snaps his jaws at him.

Adele pulls her gun, firing off three bullets that all hit the guy in the back but he doesn't budge, she's about to fire the rest when Elena calls out his name, pulling the clip from the grenade and throwing it to him. He catches it and it explodes spraying the wolf bane liquid along the man's face and down the front of his body. He screams backing away and falling to his knees scratching at his face. Damon sends swift kick to his gut and the guy falls to the side unconscious.

"Let me guess…" Alaric speaks up. "Hybrid."

~x~

"These ropes aren't going to hold him much longer. What else do we have?" Damon asks never taking his eyes from the Hybrid.

Adele snatches Elena's water bottle from her hand as she grabs the last rope from the pile. She pours the remaining water along the rope. "Ric, take this." Damon reaches back to take the rope but cries out when it burn his skin. "I said Ric."

Ric ties the last rope around the tree and the guy who is still unconscious. "All right, that's the last of the vervain. We don't have enough stuff to hold him. I don't think we're going to make that Ridge before the full moon."

"If we can get him to talk," Elena walks forward examining him closely. "We don't have to." She's about to touch him when he picks his head up, his eyes shooting open as he takes a deep breath causing her to jump back.

His neck cracks, the bones under the skin beginning break only to reform causing Elena to step back further. "He's turning." Adele observes, having seen the transformation happen before.

"That's impossible. It's still day light." Elena says.

"Tell him that." Alaric replies as Damon jumps forward pushing the guy's shoulders into the tree.

"There aren't supposed to be werewolves out here until the moon is full." Elena exclaims, panic clear in her voice.

"Well I guess that's not the case, now is it?" Adele snaps.

"Those ropes aren't going to hold a wolf." Alaric informs them and Adele makes a quick decision.

"Damon, we've got to get out of here." She calls over the man's screaming.

"Adele…" Elena says, looking ready to protest.

"Shut up Elena! Can you not see the position you've put us in? We have to go!" She snaps before turning back to Damon. "We have to get out of these mountains now!" When Damon doesn't move, Adele grabs the back of his t-shirt trying to pull him off. "Damon, now!" He finally let's go, backing up and spinning around, they take off running, as quickly and carefully as they can.

~x~

They don't make it far before Elena trips, falling hard to her knees and elbows and they skid to a stop turning back only to hold their breath. "Don't move." Damon calls out and Elena freezes in pushing herself up, her head down. She lifts her head slowly, coming face to face with a grey wolf. She gasps jerking back before freezing again.

The wolf looks in Damon's direction snarling before jerking back to look at Elena. Damon meets Adele's wide blue eyes and she can see his intentions clear. "Here doggie, doggie." He turns around and takes off just as she's moving forward his name on the tip of her tongue but Alaric reaches out grabbing her elbow. The wolf takes off after him and Elena pushes herself up.

"Come on, let's keep moving." Alaric says holding out his free hand for Elena to take. She looks between the area where Damon disappeared and Alaric before taking Alaric's hand as Adele breaks free moving away from them.

"We can't leave Damon." She insists.

"He can handle himself, let's move." Alaric urges reaching for her but she moves further away.

"If he gets bit, he'll be dead." She tells them, her heart pounding and her head spinning. The thought of Damon dying made her feel sick. "I can't leave him out here. I'm sorry." She bends down, pulling something from her boot.

"What is that?" Elena asks as Adele pulls her gun from her waistband.

"It's a fully loaded magazine." She answers as she lets the old one fall into her hand and she pushes the new one in. She turns to them. "When I find him, we'll meet you at the car." And she's gone before Alaric can stop her.

~x~

She's not sure exactly where she is, as she ducks under a low hanging branch, her gun half raised in case she has any unwanted attention her way not that the gun would really stop anything that would come at her, she'd been so worried about Damon that she'd run off before thinking her plan completely through.

It was a bad idea but one she'd have to live with now that she was out here looking for him, hoping to find him before it was too late. She couldn't go through the bite with him again because this time they didn't have anyone to negotiate with Klaus for his blood mostly because they weren't even sure where Klaus was. In other words, Damon would die.

She should've fought on this, she should've told Damon to drag her back to the car kicking and screaming. Elena doesn't seem to think about things, she doesn't seem to realize what could happen to those people risking their lives to protect her, like Damon. Every corner they turned it seemed like Elena was just trying to through herself into danger and someone else was paying the price for it.

Adele freezes, raising her gun completely as her blue eyes scout the area in front of her. Something was out there, watching her and she swallows back her fear as she steps forward.

She screams as sharp teeth dig painfully into her calf. She switches the gun into her left hand and uses it to hit the wolf upside the head. It snarls letting go of her leg and she drops to the ground pressing her back against the nearest tree as she lifts the gun, her hands shaking making the gun unsteady.

The wolf approaches slowly, growling lowly and sniffing the air around it, probably smelling the blood running down her calf seeping into the bottom of her jeans and dripping into her boot.

Its glowing yellow eyes meet hers as it bares its teeth at her. It lunges and Adele shoots hitting it in the chest but it doesn't seem to slow it down as Adele turns her head closing her eyes, waiting for impact.

It never comes.

She opens her eyes, turning her head back forward slowly. The wolf lays dead a few feet to the right, its heart lying next to it but that's not what has her eyes widening and her heart pounding even faster. It's the man standing in front of her, gazing down at her with a thoughtful expression. She realizes with a sickening amount of surprise and fear, that it's Klaus.

~x~

She doesn't leave her spot on the cold ground if anything she presses back harder against the tree, the rough bark digging almost painfully into the bare skin of her exposed lower back but it was nothing compared to the throbbing pain in her calf. If there was anything Elena should have told her about the deadly hybrid it was the fact that he was ridiculously good looking. The good looking bad guys always seem to be the worst.

"That looks nasty." He speaks, his British accent thick but understandable. He's mentioning down to her bite. "I could fix that right up for you, if you'd let me of course."

"It's fine." She answers a bit too quickly for her liking causing her to flinch. "It'll heal."

"It must hurt." She takes a second to look down at it, it's far too dark out and there's far too much blood for her to see the wound clearly but she figures being a wolf and all, that his night vision is a lot better then hers.

She turns her blue eyes back up to him. "I'll live." She assures.

"At least let me help you up, make sure you can walk alright." He holds out a hand that Adele stares at seeming to be weighing her options because here was the bad guy in their story and he was offering to help her. "I'm not going to hurt you, I swear." He says though she's not so sure but then again what other choice did she have? She was hurt, there was no way in hell she'd be able to out run him anyways or fight him for that matter.

She takes his out stretched hand ignoring the warmth of it as she swallows back the pain when she's standing, putting a small amount of pressure onto the leg. "Can you walk?"

"Yes." She manages to say and he lets go of her hand but stays close maybe so he can catch her if she falls?

"What are you doing out here all by yourself?" Adele runs a hand through her hair, her gaze shifting to anywhere but this handsome villain in front of her.

"I think you know." Her answer is sharp, not that she intended it to be but he catches it anyways, his eyebrows rising obviously surprised that she's snapped at him like so.

"Ah right. I killed your sister and took your boyfriend's brother."

"Yeah." She nods with a sigh and a thought pops into her head. He can't seriously be standing here just wanting to make sure she's okay. That's not what villains do. "Are you going to kill me? I mean really?"

He tilts his head his eyes narrowing as he studies her and she fidgets uncomfortable under his stare, though he'd been in Alaric's body the last time she encountered him, he had studied her with the same thoughtful and intrigued stare, like there was something about her that he couldn't quite figure out.

"No." He finally says. "I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to let you go." Surprise flashes in her eyes for a split second before it's gone. "Don't get me wrong love, normally I would but…I've always been a sucker for blue eyes." With that said he sends her an overly bright smile. "Now run along before I change my mind."

She does, turning around and going back the way she had come only to stop and turn back slightly to see he's still standing there watching her. "Um…" She turns back towards her path for a second before meeting his stare. "Thank you." She calls.

He seems slightly surprised by this. "For what love? Saving your life or letting you live?"

A small smile plays at her lips, though she knows she shouldn't be smiling, at least not smiling at him of all people. She feels like she's breaking some kind of rule here. "Both I guess." She turns around quickly disappearing from his line of sight.

~x~

"Damon!" She calls for the sixth time, limping further into the darkness surrounding her. She wasn't sure if she was going to find him or not. If he was okay she knows he'd be looking for her to but they we're in the Smoky Mountains for shits sakes. There's no telling how far away from each other they are. If they we're far enough away from each other it could take weeks to find each other though if she doesn't find him tonight and if her leg doesn't stop bleeding, she'd be half dead if not dead by morning. She realizes that she might be letting her mind run away with itself. "Damon!"

"Kitten!" She stops lifting her eyes from the ground. "Adele!" She turns to the right, running as much as she can in the direction she's heard his voice and the closer she gets the faster her heart pounds with the possibility that he could've been bit.

She breaks through a couple trees to find him walking in the other direction. "Damon!" He turns, his icy eyes flashing with relief as she half jogs half limps towards him. He meets her half way, wrapping her tightly in his arms as she bares her head in his neck. She pulls back suddenly. "Are you going?"

"Am I okay? You're the one bleeding. Are you okay?" She ignores him, reaching up to cup his cheeks.

"Damon, did you get bit?" His eyes search her face before he shakes his head.

"No. I didn't." He assures softly and she breathes a sigh of relief, before she kisses him softly. "What about you? Why are you bleeding?" She pulls away, looking down at her calf.

"Yeah," She gives off a short humorless laugh. "You might not have gotten bit but I did." She says. "It hurts like a bitch, I think it's deep. I'm not sure."

"You we're bit? By a werewolf?" He bends down to examine her leg closely but the wound is hidden behind her blood and her jeans. "One of those hybrids? How did…how did you get away?" Adele opens her mouth but quickly closes it, which probably wasn't her best idea as Damon stands. She could've gotten away with lying a second ago but now…now it wasn't going to fly. He'd know but she wasn't sure telling him was the best idea.

"Adele…How did you get away?" He knows there has to be some huge reason. She was good, he'd give her that but she wasn't good enough to face on one of those crazed hybrids without help. She'd be dead if she tried.

"Klaus." She finally breaths and he steps back as if she'd pushed him. "I looked away for a second because the thing lunged at me and when I looked up the thing was dead, it's heart ripped out and Klaus was standing in front of me."

"And he just let you go?" Damon whispers.

"Yeah, he asked why I was out here but he didn't ask about Elena, he didn't ask about anyone else, he just saved me, offered to heal me and sent me on my way telling me he's a sucker for blue eyes." She explains and a moment of raw rage flashes in his own blue eyes before its gone and Adele thinks if she'd blinked she would've missed it.

"It's always the eyes. I swear you seem to attract the world's worst company with those things. I'm going to buy you colored contacts, it's the first damn thing I'm doing when we get back and you're going to wear them whenever you're outside and not with me." He rants as he pulls her to him before biting into his wrist and pressing the bleeding wound to her lips.

After a couple seconds she pushes his wrist away choking on the horrible tasting liquid as she wipes her mouth. Her leg heals quickly, the pain subsiding in a matter of seconds. "You shouldn't have run after me."

"Are you kidding me? You know me Damon, you know how I am. How could you even think I wouldn't go running after you?" She pushes against his chest surprising him. "You shouldn't have done that! Do you realize what could have happened? If you would have gotten bit, you'd be dead! There would be no saving you this time!"

He catches her closed fist as they make contact to his chest again pulling her forward harshly and she crashes against his chest. "I'm fine." He presses his lips to hers in a rough kiss as if that would help prove his point to her. She pushes him away when air becomes essential and is left panting as she looks up at him.

"We have to stop doing this." She breathes and he tilts his head, not sure what she's talking about. "Putting _ourselves_ in danger just to help protect someone who proven time and time again that she just doesn't care, there has to be a point where enough is enough."

"Kitten, you're talking about your sister." He reminds her and she nods closing her eyes tightly.

"I know Damon. I know and I feel horrible for thinking this, I just…I can't lose anyone else." He pulls her back into his arms holding her tightly against him.

"Adele…I know." He whispers into her hair.

~x~

After getting home to the home she was actually raised in, the one she's supposed to be living in –though now walking through the hall towards her bedroom feels slightly foreign, she'd changed out of her jeans which was another piece of clothing ruined before going down to get something to drink, preferably something along the lines of the bourbon Alaric hid around thinking they wouldn't find out.

She opens the door to her bedroom and freezes in the doorway. "Seriously?" She calls across the room. "I thought you went home." She walks into the room walking over to her dresser.

"I was wrong." He mutters never turning away from her window and she looks up from staring at the top of her dresser.

"Are you drunk?" She teases and he finally turns cracking a small smile before it falls.

"I thought Stefan was gone, but I was wrong."

Adele frowns moving closer to him. "You saw him out there, didn't you? Is he okay?"

"No." Damon shakes his head. "He's not okay. He's an insufferable martyr that needs his ass kicked... But he can be saved."

Adele decides not to point out the fact that she figured they could save him, that there was always hope. Instead she goes for, "What changed your mind?"

"I changed my mind because even in his darkest place, my brother still can't let me die. So I figure I owe him the same in return." He pauses briefly. "We've got to bring him back."

"We will. Damon there's always a way." He nods after a minute of stretched out silence before moving forward and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"That confession is not the only reason I'm here." He tells her and she raises an eyebrow. "I've come to take you home."

"I am home Damon." She tells him with little conviction.

"We both know that's not true." He turns her around and begins pushing her towards the door. "We are wasting valuable time."

"Damon." She slips from his hold and moves away from him. "Seriously. I should probably stay here tonight. Show my sister and my brother that I haven't…completely moved out."

"But you have, we know it, they know it. You've spent every night since that dreadful night with me, you used to spend half your nights with me before that. I mean you're not going to be convincing anyone of anything." She simply stares at him causing him to huff and throw up his arms. "Fine but you'll see, one night sleeping alone and you will see." He brushes past her leaving her standing alone in the bedroom.

She peeks her head out the door and sees him beginning his way down the stairs. "Well I love you to Jerk!" She calls.

"Oh please woman! You know you're my world!" He yells back and with a shake of her head she laughs closing her bedroom door softly.

~x~

"I made the wise decision to sleep in my own bed tonight. It was all me Jazzy and he wasn't too pleased with the idea but he left anyways." Adele explains to the witch who laughs in response.

"And how is that working out for you?"

"It's now almost 1 in the morning and it's proving to just a tad bit difficult to fall asleep. I'm just used to having him there, next to me but tonight made me realize that if anything we're to happen to him I'd have to learn to be without him." She explains with a sigh.

"Or you would lose your mind." Adele scoffs knowing that was the most likely scenario. "Anyways, Adele what are we going to do about Jackie? You know it's not a good idea for her to stay."

"No it's not but Jasmine what choice do we have in the matter? We can't send her off to anyone else because she doesn't have anyone else. We could always track down her dead beat parents but I'd rather she be here where Michael, Nate, you and I can make sure she stays safe. You might be with Michael now Jazzy but you have never met his father, the man was a monster and I'll be damned if she ever has to go through what Mikey did." Jasmine is silent for a minute and Adele swallows ready to start apologizing for snapping.

"Your right. I didn't meet him, I don't ever want to meet him and Jackie is so innocent, she doesn't deserve to go through that. Michael…he's worried. He won't say it but I know he is. He keeps his distance. He's afraid he's going to hurt her." Jasmine explains softly.

"He won't." Adele says and there's a small stretch of silence before Adele hears rustling from the other end and the voice who greets her next isn't Jasmines but Michael's. He sounds halfway to frantic.

"How do you know?" He tries hard to control the emotion in his voice. "Adele…how can you be so sure? I tried to attack Jasmine for shits sakes."

"Because Mikey, you'd kill yourself before you'd hurt her. You've spent your whole life protecting her. Everything you've ever done you've done with that little girl in mind. You might be a vampire Mikey but your still you."

"I really hope your right Short Stuff."

"I am. Michael, I know you. You'll be okay, Jackie will be okay. I promise." It's a promise she hopes she can keep.

* * *

**Well there it is. **

**I hope you liked it. **

**And just so everybody knows in case there getting annoyed with it or will in the future, I don't mean to bash on Elena every chance I get, it's just going through these episodes, I realize how incredibly annoying she was back then and It's just almost unbearable. **

**I'm thinking like 10 reviews or more would be good before the next chapter comes out. Let me feel the love guys or the criticism, whichever one. (; **

**Next on Lose Myself: **

**Damon and Adele are taking another road trip, only this time Elena is tagging along. **

**Elena and Adele bickering while Damon aimlessly takes sides.**

**And **

**Adele runs into someone she'd really rather not run into.**


	3. Chapter 3

**All done! 9,142 words not including any of the author's notes, all for you guys. (I know, it should be longer.) I wasn't planning on it taking this long to upload but seriously the move was ridiculous and then I got sick and I'm talking like I wanted to die sick. I told my mom I had a sore throat a few days ago but she brushed it off and then the next day I couldn't get off the couch. I couldn't drink or eat anything without it hurting so bad all I wanted to do was spike my drink and go to sleep for 20 years, it made everything else on my body hurt as well. Finally she took me to the doctor, I had a throat infection. I'm sure she'll think twice before blowing it off the next time I say I have a sore throat. Whatever, I'm rambling. Sorry. **

**Shout out's over here: **

**SomebodyWhoCares: Taking Elena's side? xD of course! What do you think this is a Damon/OC story? :p Lolz. No but seriously, that would be a complete kick in the ass to Adele. Who agrees?**

**MysticGirl200: What are you Physic? You should get a price. 50 cookies for you. c(: Moving with my family is never smooth but thank you. We're very dysfunctional. It took my Cousin and his friend 30 minutes to figure out how to get our couch out the door. They even tried shoving it through the window and yet I'm still not sure how they did it, I know they broke a couple things. And Ah. Good I'm not the only one. I just…there's just something about her in this season that I just wished I could like erase her from the whole show and stick a whole new character in there. **

**helios101: First off, thank you. I'm glad you liked the chapter. Second, Klaus is a badass. He's an evil bastard and I absolutely love him. I'm glad you liked the scene between Adele and him. To tell you the truth, I almost cut it but then I was like well Damon, your amazing and we love you and we **_**want**_** you to be happy but come on now. This isn't how this works. You have to fight. Be a fighter, Damon. But seriously, I like the idea of a Klaus/Adele sort of thing. I know it's supposed to be Caroline and Klaus but that's just painful and I don't want to relive that by having to write about it. So maybe. **

**Nymartian: I just as surprised as you when I wrote it. Lolz. And even If I decide not to go the whole Klaus and Adele route there will be Klaus and Adele moments because what kind of writer would I be if didn't involve her and her snarky attitude with the original's? **

**klandgraf2007: I wasn't expecting to write Klaus in as just wanting to **_**help **_**her but I also didn't want to involve with him so fast as well so I thought to myself, Klaus does **_**good things **_**for just the hell of it, it's very far between but he **_**does**_** do it. Now we just have to wait a few months for him to do something nice again. Lolz.**

**And thank you to, lolsmileyface6, smkbaby123, Revenger's Sister, Padfoot Heir, Lucy Greenhill and Revenger Tigger. I'm so glad you guys are liking the story and thank you so much. You're all amazing. 1 million cookies for all of you. :p**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC's, sadly. **

**I'm going to warn the lot of you now because I know some of you aren't sold on it that this chapter is has a lot of James in it. Just a heads up. You learn more about him and why he's doing everything that he's doing. **

* * *

**Chapter 3: The End of the Affair**

She rolls over, having finally been able to get to fall sleep after her conversion with Jasmine. She was able to sleep somewhat decently through the rest of the night, having kicked off her blankets only twice for being too uncomfortable and scratchy.

Her head hits something hard but comfortable and whatever it is, is radiating enough heat for her to start snuggling up to it, dozing off once more, a lot easier than the first time but she doesn't question, she just wants to embrace the darkness.

"Rise and shine, Kitten." She makes a noise something between a moan and a purr as she realizes the thing she's laying on has a voice just like Damon.

She opens her eyes, moving her head to glare up at the raven haired vampire. "What the hell are you doing?" She grumbles pushing him away. She rolls over pulling her comforter up and over her body, curling her knees up to her chest and snuggling herself in. "Go away."

"We're apart for a whole night and that's the way you greet me? I liked the moaning better. That was a nice." He remarks shifting his position making the bed rock. She groans reaching over to grab her phone, she checks the time.

"6AM." She sighs.

"Like I said, rise and shine Kitten." He smirks as she sits up looking over at him.

"I have the urge to kick you out." She tells him.

"Well okay but if you do that you can forget about coming with me on my newest road trip." This gets her attention and she narrows her eyes at him as he slides from the bed making his way across her room.

"Where?" She asks watching him look around, though he's been in her room plenty of times.

"The Windy City." He answers.

"Chicago?" She kicks the covers off bouncing to the end of the bed. "We're going to Chicago? He's in Chicago? How do you know?"

"It came to me in a dream. I was naked, you would have loved it." He remarks with a smirk. "Start packing." He turns away, towards her dresser.

"Why is he in Chicago?" She asks as he opens the top drawer.

"Well he's not there to meet Oprah." He mutters taking out a pair of white lace boy shorts and holding them up. He turns to her with a not so happy expression. "How many times have I told you I like you in white?"

"A lot." She answers.

"Okay. So why are these here and not in my bedroom?" He flicks them at her and she knocks them away. "We're bringing those."

*VD*

Adele leans forward messing around with the radio of Damon's Camaro. He swats at her hands causing her to swat back. "Stop it." She grumbles finally reaching the station she wants and sitting back. She sends Damon a triumphed smile as he glares back at her.

"Will you please watch the road?" Elena asks for the fourth time since they've gotten on the road. He seemed to like to spend a lot of his time bickering with and looking at Adele more then he likes to watch where he's going. He was starting to make her worry.

"You know, I sure hope we find him, 'cause it would suck if the last momento of Stefan was that crappy old necklace." Damon comments and Elena reaches up touching the necklace around her neck.

"It's an antique, Damon. Like you." She says causing Adele to laugh.

"Oh. Burn." Damon glares at the blonde.

"Plus you gave Adele a necklace that's old." She points out and Adele reaches up as well to touch her locket.

"Yes but Damon at least knows where this one comes from, he knows its history and it's special to him. Can you say the same about yours?" Adele glances at her sister through the rearview mirror.

"If it's so special why did he give it to you? And what makes it so special? It looks like a locket it to me." Elena remarks and Adele sighs.

"It was my mothers." Damon answers as he too glances at her in the rearview mirror watching as her brown eyes widen slightly. "I gave it to Adele to protect her and because I needed her to have it. It's the only thing besides an old photo that I have of her, why not give it to the girl I'll love for the rest of my immortal life?" Adele smiles at him ready to say something along the lines of she loves him to before Elena cuts in.

"Forever is a long time and Adele's not immortal. She's going to get older, she's going to die." Adele looks away from Damon, down to her hands as Damon becomes completely focused on the road. Elena looks between the two with a small frown; she had expected some kind of reaction from them but was receiving none. It was a little weird. "All I'm saying is I'm not sure how realistic it is to say you'll love her forever." She continues and this time she does get a reaction.

"Says the girl who's traveling all the way to Chicago to bring back the guy she loves who might I point out is also immortal and you have no plans what so ever to turn in the future. What's the point then Elena? Why risk your life over and over for a guy when you know it's not going to work?" Adele turns around in her seat to look at her sister who opens her mouth to reply only to shut it with no answer. "Exactly. You know for a fact that you and Stefan aren't going to work out in the end because you want the small town life, with a husband, kids and a house with a white picket fence yet here you are. I have no such dreams Elena."

"That's a lie." Elena whispers. "You've always wanted kids. Always. I'm your sister, I know you Adele."

"But not as much as you, I don't have to have kids or a husband to be happy. You do. I can be with Damon and just be happy. You can be with Stefan but be completely stuck in the future." Elena stays silent, not having a respond for that as Damon reaches over grabbing something from beside Adele in the seat. He holds it back for Elena to take.

"Read this." He tells her. "It paints a pretty little picture of Stefan's first experience in Chicago."

"It's Stefan's diary. I'm not going to invade his private thoughts." She tells him crossing her arms.

"You need to be prepared for what you're about to see." He waves the leather bound book but she shakes her head.

"I've seen Stefan in his darkest periods. I can handle it." Adele reaches out taking the diary from his hands and opens it up to one of the pages Damon had marked. She clears her throat, making it deeper trying to sound more like a guy.

"March 12, 1922." She starts. ""I've blacked out days. I wake up in strangers' blood, in places I don't recognize with women I don't remember."" She stops reading turning to look at Damon who is smirking, highly amused. "You mean to tell me that Stefan isn't a virgin?" She glances back at Elena in mock surprise. She glares as Damon snorts a laugh.

Adele goes to continue but Elena reaches out snatching the book from her. Adele smirks sitting back, making herself comfortable for the rest of their journey as the song on the radio changes. With wide eyes Adele turns her head to look at Damon as he begins to smirk. Elena watches them closely and when they start to sing she groans.

She sits up reaching between them to turn the radio down but Adele smacks her hands, hard might she add as there singing gets louder. _"There ain't no rest for the wicked. Money don't grow on trees, I got bills to pay, I got mouths to feed. Ain't nothing in this world for free. No I can't slow down. I can't hold back. Though you know I wish I could. No there ain't no rest for the wicked. Until we close our eyes for good."_

*VD*

Elena lets out a breath of air as she places the diary face down on the seat next to her. She runs a hand over her eyes before shifting in her seat to look over at her sister who leans against the side of the Camaro, pumping gas as Damon is nowhere in sight. A Ford Bronco is parked at the pump beside them and there are a few guys looking more interested in watching Adele then they do in getting the supplies they've come for.

But Adele ignores them seeming to not even notice them in the slightest. Elena can't blame them for staring, as she leans against the car with her Aviators on and her long jean clad legs crossed she looks more like a 20 something year old model then she does an 18 year old high school student. Elena shakes her head hopping from the car, wanting to stretch her legs.

Adele noticing her sudden movement turns her head watching as she rubs her hands down her legs, trying to get the feeling back. "Done reading Stefan's deepest thoughts or was it just too much for you to handle?"

"Did you read it before you gave it to me?" Elena asks turning to her sister.

"I read enough of it." She nods.

"Stefan's still Stefan, it doesn't matter who he was in the past, it matters who he is now." Elena crosses her arms tilting her head at her sister as if telling her to challenge what she's saying and Adele being who she is does.

"That is where you're wrong." Adele pushes off the car as she stops pumping the gas when they've spent 50 bucks. She returns the nozzle to the pump before turning to her sister as she pushes her Aviators into her hair. "Sister, you might have read about the things he's done to people but I've seen what he does. It's the stuff of nightmares. You can believe that Stefan is the same guy that left with Klaus but he isn't and just because we get him back doesn't mean we've saved him. It's going to take a lot of time and work to undo what Klaus has done to him. Damon didn't make you read the diary to torture you; he made you read it to prepare you for what you might see."

Elena looks away not having the response she knows Adele is waiting for. She doesn't want to believe what Adele is telling her, though she knows it's true so she turns the conversion around. "Speaking of Damon…" Adele replaces her glasses over her eyes. "What is this talk about forever? You do know it's impossible right?"

"You and I both know more than anyone else that nothing is impossible." She answers with a grin but Elena doesn't grin back. She simply stares at her with a blank look before blinking.

"Adele…" She steps forward lowering her voice. "Are you planning on turning?"

Adele licks her bottom lip turning to look towards the store making the three guys who are still there turn away quickly before she turns back. "We've talked about it."

Elena steps back her brows furrowing. "What…what does that mean?"

"It means we've talked about it but it is my decision and I haven't made one." She answers with a small shrug.

"What do you mean you haven't made one? Adele, you can't do it." Elena exclaims trying to keep her voice low.

"She can." Elena jumps, spinning around in surprise. She forgot all about Damon who must've heard there whole conversion as he comes up from behind her, slipping past and over to Adele's side where he hands her a small plastic bag from the store before placing a kiss to her forehead as she takes to looking through the bag. "I have the capability as we all know to make it happen but like she said it's her decision and I'll respect whatever she chooses to do and _you_ can't tell her what she can and cannot to."

"You do know if you turn you'll be throwing your life away right?" Elena crosses her arms against sticking her chin up at Adele in that way that makes her look like she's better then you and Adele rolls her eyes.

"Actually and correct me if I'm mistaken, turning would expand my life, wouldn't it? I mean I'd be immortal and the last time I checked immortal means living forever unless someone killed me of course then I'd just be dead." Adele says as she pushes her seat forward allowing Elena to slide into the back seat before she pushes it back and sliding in.

"Well you don't have to be a smart ass about it." Elena mutters.

"And you don't have to be so stuck up." Damon retorts causing Elena to glare as Adele laughs.

"Exactly, you don't see me complaining."

*VD*

They pull up to a slightly rundown looking apartment building, where Damon parks the car along the curb. He comes around to Adele's side quickly enough to open the door for her and she steps from the car pulling the seat forward to let Elena out.

The twins follow Damon closely as he enters the building leading them past the vacated front desk to the stairs. They begin up as Elena finally huffs out a breath. "Why are we here?" She asks.

"Because this is where Ripper Stefan lived when he was in Chicago." Damon informs her.

"Stefan could've lived anywhere in Chicago and he chose this?" She scrunches her nose as they reach the third floor of the building turning into a damp hallway.

"There used to be an all-girls high school around the corner, but it shut down for attendance issues." He explains to them glancing back at the sisters and Adele catching on to his meaning raises an eyebrow.

"Weird." She mutters causing the vampire to smirk.

"If you're trying to scare me into giving up and going back, it's not going to work." She snaps at them and Damon shushes her as they reach the end of the hall and the very last door. He looks back at them as he breaks off the door handle and the door swings open softly. He steps to the side.

"Welcome to Stefan's second personality home." He waves a hand silently telling them to enter and Adele lets Elena go first before following after her slowly.

"He obviously hasn't been here." Elena points out as she crosses her arms, her eyes roaming for any sigh that he'd been there in the past few days but there was nothing; the place was clean…sort of.

"Tour is not over yet." Damon brushes past her, towards the open kitchen and over to a built in shelve case. He runs his hand down the side and they hear the click as he unlatches a latch on the side pulling the secret door open to reveal a small back room full of nothing but alcohol. As Damon turns on the light Adele moves into the small section standing beside him and her eyes fall to the side wall where he's staring.

"Stefan hid his Alcohol. What a monster." Elena mocks, Damon mentions her in as Adele snorts.

"I think you should look just little bit harder." She says as Elena steps in front of her, moving her own eyes over to the list of names written on the old wall.

"It's a list of names." She points out and she's right. It's a list of names including Giuseppe Salvatore, the first man he ever killed and his father. "These are all of his victims?"

"Still handling it?" Damon mutters leaving the small hidden room and Elena almost groans in annoyance as she watches him. Adele slips from the room as well going almost completely unnoticed.

"What were you doing in the 1920s? Paving the way for women's liberation?" Elena snaps.

"I was around." He answers as Elena is leaving the room. "Chicago's a big city. Stefan was a cocky ripper douche. But I could avoid him and still indulge in a few Daisy Buchanan's of my own." He explains to which Elena gives a snort of disgust turning to look at her sister who is examining the old appliances in the rest of the kitchen.

"Don't give me that look Elena. I know who he is and who he was and who he will forever be. I've accepted it and moved on." She says knowing without turning around the look she was sending her, a look that said "How can you date this guy?" It wasn't the first time she'd gotten that look regarding Damon and her, it was however the first time she's responded to the look.

"That's right. You should really stop being so judgmental towards your sister, I mean take a hard look at your own boyfriend." Damon says as he's moving towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" Adele stops her snooping at the sound of her sister's question to turn around, watching Damon.

"His old stomping ground." Damon answers and Elena jumps forward ready to run after him.

"I'm coming with you." She demands.

"No, you and Kitten are staying here to whip up an actual plan. I'll come back when I find him." He walks out, leaving Elena to turn around with crossed arms to stare her down and she rolls her eyes, pulling her cell phone from her back pocket as it buzzes.

"What is it with you today? All these dirty looks are getting on my nerves." She says scrolling through the three pictures of Jackie, Michael and Willy Jasmine just sent her. Michael seemed to be doing okay with Jackie being around and it was a relief to see.

"Did you know he was going to leave us here? I mean this just smells like something you two cooked up from the beginning." She accuses.

"Truth be told Elena, I didn't know about this little trip till this morning and between the time he told me we we're coming here to the time we left, I had no time to talk to him about plans regarding you. I'm sure this was his plan from the beginning but he sure as hell didn't tell me."

"That's a little hard to believe considering he tells you everything." Elena snorts and Adele resist the urge to chuck her phone at her sister. It was amazing how irritated Elena could make her just by opening her month.

"Well yeah, I mean isn't that what being in a relationship is about? I mean maybe you wouldn't know considering how much shit Stefan seemed to like to keep to himself but I guess that is what makes the two of them such polar opposites huh?" Elena visibly flinches at her words but Adele pays no mind and continues on. "Since you seem to be so interested in my relationship Elena, let me break it down for you. Damon is my best friend, my lover, my everything okay? Of course he tells me everything just like I tell him everything. What are we supposed to do?"

"I don't…I don't understand it Adele. You know who he is; you know what he's done and what he's capable of doing. He's the very definition of a monster and yet you're still with him, you still chose to love him." Elena regrets the words as soon as she says them as Adele's eyes harden. Her sister takes a deep breath, looking away trying to gather her thoughts before she turns back.

"Chose? I didn't chose anything, it happened and I want you to answer me something Elena, and I want it truthfully. If Damon is such a monster why is he risking his neck to search for his brother? Because you do know that if he runs into Klaus and Klaus finds out that your alive there's a very good chance that he will kill him, not to mention the many times of which he's saved your ass and mine for that matter and the fact that he still doing everything in his power to keep us safe. He saved Caroline and Tyler from being used in a sacrifice to try and help you. He got bit, he almost died. I know he's done horrible things Elena, but take a good look at your own boyfriend. For shit's sakes, he has a list of his victims in a hidden room!" She points off behind her dramatically and Elena swallows hard as she looks at her.

"Despite the whole Saint Stefan thing, he's not really a saint. He's a vampire with an uncontrollable blood lust that has him ripping the heads off of his victims," Elena cringes at the mental picture; she doesn't want to be reminded of what Stefan is capable of. "And I know you don't want to hear that but that's what he does and you need to understand that. You're doing everything you can not to expect the fact that Stefan may not be exactly who you thought he was so instead of facing realty you turn and point your finger at Damon, accusing him of being the monster here but Elena, it's not him, not this time."

Elena watches her sister walk past her, her words slowly sinking in, slowly making the pit in her stomach that's been there since Stefan left grow. "Where are you going?" She calls snapping out of it when she hears the door opening.

"Outside, just stay here. Don't do anything stupid." She mutters almost slamming the door behind her.

*VD*

She pushes her aviators into place as she exits the building. She looks both ways down the side walk; she had no idea what she was to do now. Leaving the apartment seemed to be the best idea. She and Elena hadn't been getting along well all summer despite the fact that Elena almost died, for whatever reason the twins couldn't seem to agree on anything. The two have slowly been growing apart for years, Adele was starting to see that now and she wasn't sure how she felt about it.

Adele had no idea where she was, she had no idea where to go. She'd never been to Chicago before; it was a big city one she could easily get lost in. Damon should've realized that leaving them alone was a bad idea but yet here she was roaming around outside an old beaten up apartment building because the urge to ring her sister's neck was a lot stronger now than ever before.

"Adele Gilbert." She freezes, her phone pulled halfway out of her back pocket as she had been ready to text Damon but she pushes it back down, turning around slowly. "How happy I am to have run into you on this beautiful day, a bit surprised but happy none the less."

Adele's lips twitch up into a sarcastic smirk as she regards the man standing before her, his dark eyes regarding her carefully. "Wish I could say the same but, honestly James the sight of you makes me sick to my stomach."

"With worry maybe? Considering what you did to five of my best agents?" She remembers the day well, the day she had to wing a rescue mission for Michael and Nate, the day Michael was turned into a vampire at the hands of the monster standing in front of her.

"With disgust James, you disgust me and after what you did to Michael you and everyone who blindly follows you deserve to burn. He was innocent; he didn't know anything about the supernatural."

"It was a small technicality really. I needed you to understand that this wasn't a joke. That I was serious."

"And we see how well that worked out for you." She remarks.

"I'll attempt that you caught me off guard then Miss. Gilbert. It was nicely played."

She scoffs. "Nicely played? I winged it. I didn't have any sort of Play James." He ignores her.

"And I sure wasn't expecting Justin to turn on me though I should've known sending anyone that close to you was dangerous. You seem to have some kind of charm that almost nobody can resist and when you asked him to jump, he jumped didn't he?" His tone is bitter and sour like the words tasted bad on his tongue.

"That's not the way it happened. Justin realized just how much of bastard you are, he wants to stop you. I had nothing to do with it that." She informs him though she knows it's only partially true and she knows he knows it to.

"It doesn't matter now, what's done is done. Justin is now a liability. As much as it pains me to say, he must be stopped." Adele swallows thickly; the idea of Justin getting hurt at the hands of this man who claimed to care for him was hard to think about.

"You don't know pain." She says in a whisper. "Pain is having everything you know ripped from underneath your feet, having the person you love torn from you because some twisted asshole declared them evil when in reality it's him who's the evil one. People shouldn't be wasting their time hunting down vampires; they should be hunting down people like you."

"Your so naïve Adele. So consumed in a love that's doomed, that's always been doomed from the start. I know he makes you feel important now but soon he'll move on because vampires are immortal and with immortality comes life times and life times of true loves, never just one."

"You're wrong. You wouldn't know true love if it bit you in the ass." She scoffs crossing her arms across her chest. His eyes flash with something Adele can't place before it's gone and she swears if she had blinked she would've missed whatever it was.

He regards her with thoughtful consideration before nodding. "Okay. I would like to show you something Miss. Gilbert."

"You have to be kidding if you think I'm going anywhere with you." She snaps taking a wide step back, looking around for her best possible escape route.

"I understand your hesitation Adele, but I'm not going to hurt you. It wouldn't serve my greater purpose." He tells her.

Adele stares at him, her eyes narrowing into blue slits. "Which would be?"

"I've told you. I plan on you joining us."

"And I told you, it's not going to happen." James is silent for a minute, his dark eyes studying the young blonde in front of him and Adele shifts her weight to the other foot.

"I would like to show you something. It's just around the corner." She blows out a breath ready to tell him to go to hell but she hesitates. This was a real opportunity she had here. The thought that it could be a trap crosses her mind as well but if it wasn't there was a great possibility that she could get insight into that world, get an idea of how to take them down.

She glances back up at the apartment building. If Damon comes back and finds she's disappeared he's going to freak and then he's going to be pissed. "Fine." She snaps turning back. "Make it quick."

*VD*

He brought her to an abandoned church just a block away from the apartment building. The outside was a mess with over grown grass ready to cover the pavement leading up to the steps completely; the stone sigh that sat beside the steps was completely demolished, leaving behind bits and pieces of stone. The red brick of the building was blackened in some spots and weeds grew up the sides of the building but the stain glass windows lining the top of the building looked in pretty good shape from what Adele could see.

"A church?" She calls as she follows him up the pathway. "You couldn't be a little more original then that?"

"It's not about originality Miss. Gilbert. It's about convenience. This building is abandoned and has been abandoned for quite some time; it was perfect for us to start a training faculty." He explains and her steps waver slightly.

"Training faculty?" She stops at the steps leading up to the two big oak wood doors. James stops at the top of the steps turning to look down at her. "Does that mean I'm about to walk into a building full of nothing but hunters?"

"Trainees. There will be hunters but most of the people you are about to see are just trainees, from what I've witnessed you could take the lot of them with no problem. There's nothing to worry about."

Adele highly doubts that, as many times as she's faced Justin, she's only beaten him a few times, he was fast and skilled. Though he wasn't a vampire, he was still deadly but she continues forward following him though the wooden doors.

At first Adele isn't sure what she's walked in on but slowly as the movement in the room comes to a halt and every pair of eyes turn on them, she realizes that it is indeed a training room. The pews have been removed leaving nothing but open space that's been filled with work out equipment on one side and mats for sparing on the other. On a far wall theirs weapons of every kind, homemade weapons as well.

James walks them straight through the middle, towards the stage that still stood along with the podium still standing for whatever reason. He climbs the side steps as she follows stopping to address the crowd who are still watching them. "There's nothing to see here. Get back to work." He calls out, his voice full of authority and everyone in the room becomes busy once again picking up like nothing had happened.

Adele watches silently as a boy who could be older than 13 easily took down a boy twice his size in just under 2 minutes before James brings her attention back to him. "This is our training room as you can obviously gather; this is where we train our people. We have training faculties all over the country; this is one of our smaller ones." Her eyes find the boy again, he's facing the same boy and with the same quickness and skill, he takes him down. "Follow me." She tares her eyes from them as they set up for another round.

He leads her through another door, into a brightly lit hall that has three more doors. One to the left, another to the right and the last one at the very end of the hall and she can guess that it's going to lead them back outside.

He walks past the two doors; the one of the right is opened revealing to her some sort of make shift nurses office where a guy looking around Justin's age is sitting at the end of a single twin bed, holding a white rag stained in blood to his head. He looks groggy and she can just here a female telling someone that's he's going to need stitches. She pushes forward not wanting to see anymore.

She was right, the last door on the end leads them back outside into some sort of back yard type seen. A large privacy fence blocks off the yard to the outside world and it was much neater then the front. The grass was cut and there was a stone pathway leading to a building at the back, it wasn't exactly a small building either but it wasn't huge.

And that's where he takes her. The door is locked. Pad locked as it would turn out and after bunching in a few digits the door unlocks and he swings it open letting her step through first. There's no light besides the sunlight coming through the now open door and from the little bit she can see, what she's staring at is a wrestling ring.

Flouriest lights flicker on and she blinks quickly letting her eyes adjust. She was right. In the center of the one roomed building is a wrestling ring and surrounding it is metal chairs aligned in rows.

"What is this?" She asks.

"We have a certain way of training our people Adele. We put them into physical training first before they move onto the mental training but before they can do that they have to pass a certain challenge so to speak. They have to beat our champion, a hunter who is our best fighter. They have three trails. In the first trail they have to last 5 minutes with our champion, if they last the 5 minutes they move onto more intense training and they go back into the ring with our champion this time for 30 minutes, if they last they move on. In the end they have to be able to last a full hour in the ring with our champion before they pass the physical training."

"And if they beat your "champion"?" She looks up at him only briefly.

"Then they become our new champion and they pass. It very rarely happens. Our last champion was champion for almost 10 years before Justin came almost 4 years ago, he wiped the mat with him and became our best hunter, but we all know how that ended up. Kyle took his place but he went on a mission and completely disappeared." James says letting the words sink in but Adele doesn't budge, she stares at the ring. Is that what he thought? That Kyle just disappeared? Good.

"Why are you showing me this?" She finally whispers her gaze never leaving the ring. James watches her with sharp eyes.

"We have a match up at about," he trails off to peek at the clock on his phone. "Now." He says just as the men and woman from the training room begin to file in taking up many of the seats leaving two open at the front to which James guides her over mentioning for her to take a seat. She does glancing around at the many faces. The boy she'd been watching before catches her eye and he smiles though his eyes are tortured.

It takes all of ten minutes for everyone to find a seat and get quiet and Adele can't help the slight jerk of her body when a bell rings silencing the quiet whispers.

A man steps into the ring. A tall man with strawberry blond hair cut short with the build of a mixed martial arts fighter. He reminded her slightly of the actor from the movie Never Back Down.

"That is Dan." James whispers to her. "He's our champion."

The second person to step into the ring is a boy, a boy who couldn't be older then Jeremy. His dark hair brushes along the back of his neck, his blue eyes are determined as he stares across the ring at Dan.

"And that is Greg. He's been training for a month now. I'm not sure it's enough time but he wanted the chance." He explains to her as her eyes catch sight of the wooden stake held with in a case on the boy's belt. James noticing her stare smiles. "Dan will be playing the role of vampire though he is slower it's still affective. Greg objective is to kill him, though he won't be able to. He simple just has to last."

A second bell rings and both boys ready themselves, Dan crouching into a position that is ready to strike and they circle each other before a third bell rings and with a speed that looks almost inhuman Dan swipes out a leg knocking Greg to the ground.

The impact of the fall echoes off the walls drawing a flinch from Adele as Dan makes to grab for the young boy but he rolls away swinging to his feet and delivering a harsh blow to the back of the head. Dan stumbles forward but keeps his balance. He swings around moving in for a punch that Greg easily ducks under with amazing Grace that lands him back behind his opponent, exactly where he's decided he needs to be.

Greg moves in for another blow to the head but is caught by Dan who shoves an elbow into the boy's nose, there's a sickening crack that makes Adele feel slightly sick but Greg barely flinches moving to dodge a second elbow but is caught by a hard punch to the gut instead. He bends forward obviously winded and Dan takes advantage shoving an elbow into the middle of his back sending Greg crashing to the mat on his stomach.

He rolls away from Dan quickly staggering to his feet, he draws his stake to which James closes his eyes briefly shaking his head.

Dan lunges forward giving the boy no time to react. The stake is flung from his hand and he's thrown back to the ground. He stumbles to his feet once more only to be knocked back a few steps by a punch to the jaw followed by another. Greg stumbles forward swinging an arm blindly. It's grabbed by Dan who uses it to swing the boy around before he wraps his arms around his neck just as a bell rings. Dan drops his arms automatically taking a wide step back as the boy falls forward back onto his stomach.

"Well look at that." James says aloud, standing from his seat to clap slowly. "Dan, get him to the clinic and when he is cleared bring him to Steve. He will start the next part of his training." Dan raises a blond eyebrow but doesn't argue as he host the bloody kid up and over his shoulder.

"Wait a second," Adele speaks up turning to James. Though he knows she's not talking to him Dan lingers in the ring as the crowd begins filing out the way they came. "You're passing him?"

"He lasted the 5 minutes Miss. Gilbert. That is all that was required from him." James says.

"He barely lasted. A second longer and the "vampire" would've killed him. I mean he had his arms around his neck. The clock should have been stopped right then. In a real life situation he'd be dead if a vampire got his arms around his neck. There are no clocks that are going to stop in real life. If this is the way you pass your people, this is a flawed way to train them."

"This is the way we've done things for years Adele."

"Yeah? Well it's wrong." Her phone buzzes in her back pocket and she digs it out. It's a text from Damon.

_Where the hell are you?_ It reads and she blows out a sigh before spinning around and marching towards the door.

"Where are you going Miss. Gilbert?" James calls.

"I'm done. Done with this place and done with you. You've caused me nothing but anger, irritation and pain." She's very aware of both James eyes on her and Dan's who is still standing in the ring with the unconscious Greg over his shoulder.

"But I'm not done with you." He says causing Adele's steps to slow. She stops turning slightly to look at him.

"I don't care. You've ruined my entire life in a single night and just when I was putting it back together here you come, to destroy everything I've done for myself. Michael had nothing to do with this. He knew nothing about vampires and you forced him to turn with the promise to kill him, you almost ruined him. He has a sister who depends on him and he can barely be around her now. You're twisted and I want nothing to do with you or your cause."

"Dan," James says having noticed his champion listening to and watching the young Gilbert girl. The blond male tares his hazel eyes from the blue eyed female to his boss. "Get him to the clinic before he bleeds out."

With one last lingering gaze on the Gilbert girl he slips easily from the ring and retreats from the room. "I still have one last thing to show you. Hopefully it will help you understand where I'm coming from, why this is so important to me."

Adele glances down at her phone buzzing with a second message. _I'm serious Adele. I need to know where you are. I'll tear this God Damn city apart if I have to._ It reads and she quickly types out a reply.

_I'm fine. Just find Stefan and I'll call you soon._

*VD*

He led her back to the church; back down the hall where he stopped to unlocked the closed door that's marked supervisor.

He closes the door behind them flipping on an overhead light that gives off a dim golden light.

The small office space was just that. Small. It could barely hold the two of them along with the wooden desk in the center. A laptop sat in the middle along with a plastic pencil holder containing pens, a desk lamp and a single picture frame faced away from her. A filing cabinet was pushed back into a far corner. A large leather chair sat behind the desk and a smaller chair sits across from it. He mentions her to have a seat and she does so slowly.

James doesn't take a seat, he moves to the side of the desk where he picks up the single picture frame. He stares at it for a minute, silent. His eyes are clouded over in something along the lines of despair.

He holds the frame out to her and she frowns reaching up to take it. Pulling it to her she flips it over. It's a picture of a woman, she's pretty with golden brunette hair and light brown eyes, her smile is completely worry free. She looked happy, like nothing in the world was wrong.

"Her name was Kelly. She was 28 when she died, killed by a vampire. It was late at night. She never saw it coming. She didn't know anything about vampires." Adele hands the photo back.

"Who was she to you?" Adele asks softly.

"My wife. We we're high school sweethearts. We had been married 4 years before the attack and just a month after we learned that we we're expecting a child." He explains to which Adele sits back slightly letting out a deep breath.

"I'm sorry." She whispers. "I am, that's…horrible." She shakes her head. "But…I don't understand what that has to do with me. Why you are doing all this to me."

"From that day on, I vowed to destroy the monsters that did that to her and then what happened to my brother and his wife and my niece Corrie." Corrie. Adele recognizes the name as the tattoo on Justin's wrist. Corrie was his sister and she died by a vampire attack, it had been the one thing that pushed Justin into the family business. He had been able to deal with the death of his parents but his sister was too much and he cracked. "It's been my life since then."

"You understand." She says after a minute. "You understand what it feels like to lose the one you love." She looks up at him. "Yet you still came into that house and tried to kill everyone. You almost did. Jasmine was the only one who got away from you. You killed 5 people I loved that night and you forced the change on Michael." He's moved to the laptop where he's been looking through it.

"I have a plan Adele, one that you'd be most valuable in. If I want to succeed I need you on my side. I've been watching you. I know you inside and out. I know your strengths and I know your weaknesses." He turns the laptop showing her a picture file. He pulls up the first picture and a muscle in her jaw twitches.

It's a picture of her, Caroline and Tyler from sometime over the summer. She'd hung out with them more; wanting to reconnect to the two people she was closest to in her childhood.

He flips to the next picture which is of Michael and Jasmine from sometime before they turned him. They we're walking up the stairs of his apartment building, fingers interlocked. Michael had Willie, his pure white English bulldog puppy in his free arm.

The next picture is of Justin and Nate, there standing across from each other in a parking lot, the parking lot of the motel Justin was staying at. It looked to be taken just a week ago, the last time they saw Justin and he was laughing at something Nate was doing. He looked happy in that one moment.

Her anger rises even more so at the next photo it's of her sister, Alaric and her. They had gone out for lunch or Elena had dragged them to lunch at the beginning of summer, trying to figure out where Stefan and Klaus could be. There was a map stretched out on the table in front of them and Elena was pointing at something.

Her breath catches as he flips to the next photo. Jeremy and Bonnie we're out most likely on a date. They we're walking through the park holding hands none the less. She lifts her eyes, to glare at James but he just shakes his head mentioning back down.

She looks and loses the ability to breathe all together. She and Damon had taken a trip to Richmond almost two weeks ago; they'd gone shopping, went to lunch and dinner and even got ice cream some time during the whole ordeal. This picture showed just that. There standing in front of a shop, Adele with a cup of ice cream in her hand as Damon is leaning down kissing the corner of her lips where she had a tiny bit of ice cream.

She stands abruptly not sure she could see anymore. "If you touch him, if you touch any of them…"

"Exactly my point. They are a weakness." He closes the laptop, leaning back onto the heels of his feet.

"No." She shakes her head backing up towards the door. "That's where you're wrong. I fight for them, I put my life on the line for them, and I survive for them. They make me strong because if it wasn't for them, I'd be lost. If you hurt any of them James, it'll be the last thing you do."

*VD*

She burst through the door that leads her back into the main room of the church, a few of the trainees and trainers stop having caught sight of her but most just go about their business like she wasn't storming towards the front doors. As she passes by, she realizes that one of the trainees to stop is the boy. He watches her with blank eyes along with Dan who's watching her from across the room with a thoughtful expression.

"Miss. Gilbert." She hears from behind her. James had followed her, calling for her to stop. She spins around obviously startling him as he takes a step back. Her eyes narrow as she steps forward, every part of her body is tingling with a rage that has turned her blood cold. She felt trapped, like a caged animal and she would attack if necessary. He seems to realize that, holding up his hands to her as if to calm her.

"I'm warning you now James, you've token everything from me once already and I'll be damned if I allow you to do it again. I'm never going to join you; you assured that when you killed them. You told me you're doing this for your wife that you're going to rid the world of monsters like them but news flash; it's you who's the monster. Killing 5 innocent…"

"Tony Braxton was hardly innocent Adele…"

"But River _was_ innocent. So was Danny, she never killed anyone and of course we know what happened to Michael and now you have the nerve to threaten the lives of my family and I'm talking about my real family now which is a whole different story along with people I grew up with and yes my boyfriend who is a vampire. Whoop de fucking do." She shoves a finger into his chest causing the man to grunt. "I told you once already, if you touch them, it's your funeral and I'll dig the hole myself. That is my promise to you." By the time she's turning back around and continuing back towards the door she has the whole buildings attention.

She glanced back once. Every person in the room had their eyes fixed on James who still standing watching her with an unreadable expression as he rubs a hand over the spot on his chest that she had jammed her finger into. She sends him a cold, sarcastic smile. "Good night James, I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon."

*VD*

By the time she gets back to the apartment building she feels like she could cry, the anger quickly replaced by exhaustion and dread. Damon's car was still gone so Adele figures he had taken her advice and was still searching for Stefan most likely with her sister in tow this time which means going up to the apartment was out of the question, she wasn't going to go wait up there by herself. In fact she didn't want to be in Chicago. She was ready to go home, more than ready to go home. She wanted to get the hell out of Chicago and never return.

"Adele." She whips around, her heart beating wildly against her ribs. She lets out a breath of air as she sees who it is.

"You scared the shit out of me." She snaps more forcefully then she intended. Justin merely raises an eyebrow not bothering with a response as he steps forward baring his hands in the pockets of his coat.

"What did he say to you?" He asks and Adele closes her eyes not wanting to relive the conversion.

"You saw me?" She whispers.

"Not intentionally. I was following James when I spotted you walking out of…" He glances up at the building beside them briefly. "The building. Unfortunately I wasn't the only one. Adele why would you go with him?"

"Because I needed answers that he was willing to give me. He told me about Kelly." Justin's eyes flash at the name, like he's recalling some distant memory.

"Aunt Kelly, yeah. She was a good woman. Her death pushed him further into the hunting business but he was well on his way to being the same guy he is now; she was going to leave him. She didn't like what he was becoming. Don't let his story fool you Adele, he's a bad guy." Justin says glancing around him like he expected something to come jumping out at them.

"I know." She whispers. "He showed me pictures of my family and friends. He told me they we're my weaknesses. He's been following me." She rips a hand through her hair, an obvious sign of frustration and nerves.

Justin moves forward the rest of the way, wrapping her in his arms easily and she doesn't resist. "Of course he did Adele. He's trying to get in your head because he knows once he does; it'll be easier to achieve his goal." He pulls away, his hands on her shoulders as he meets her eyes. "You can't let him get the best of you Adele. You fight him; you fight him with everything you've got."

"What if it's not enough?" Her eyes are wide and vulnerable and he shakes his head a small barely noticeable smirk forming on his lips.

"You don't give yourself the credit you deserve. If there's anyone who's going to tear him down, it's going to be you. Adele if you can't do it, nobody can. You'll find a way and I'll be right here with you." A car turns the corner of the street and it has Justin leaning forward pressing his lips to her forehead before letting her go completely and disappearing into the night promising to call her.

She turns her head as the car wizzes past, blowing her hair in every direction. She pushes it out of her face and glances around but the street is silent leaving her completely alone with her thoughts, something she didn't want to be.

*VD*

When Damon pulls up to the apartment building, at first he doesn't see her. He thinks maybe she's in the apartment or maybe she hasn't returned yet but with a second glance he does see her, sitting with her back against the brick wall. She's hugging her knees close to her chest, her head rested against them.

As he approaches, he's not sure if she's awake. She looks to be sleeping but as he comes closer, her head picks up and her blue eyes find him. He doesn't know how long she's been sitting there and he hopes it wasn't long. Something looks to be troubling her.

"It's time to go Kitten." He speaks softly and her eyes move from him to the car parked on the curb, she can just make out Elena crawling into the backseat. She nods slowly as she picks herself up from the ground.

He opens the passenger side door for her telling her that they could get a hotel for the night and take off for home in the morning but she stops turning to look at him. "Let's just go home." She mutters. "I want to go home." He frowns but doesn't say anything as he just nods.

As he drives, he can't help but glance over to her. She's leaning her head against the window though her eyes are open, watching the scenery change around her. He doesn't know where she went, he doesn't know what happened but something was wrong. He figures he can't get her to tell him now with Elena in the car but he hopes she will.

He reaches over, his hand slipping easily into hers and she looks up briefly to give him a small smile that doesn't reach her eyes.

* * *

**I told you. I told you there was a lot of James in this. Most of the chapter, okay like the whole chapter but it was a chapter that I needed to do so, there it is. It's done and over with. Lolz. **

**Anywho, reviews are amazing, so please make sure to leave them. I really like the amount I'm getting for the chapters; it's motivating me that much more. (;**

**Previews for the next chapter:**

**Tension is high among friends, **

**Jeremy is seeing the ghost of his dead ex-girlfriends, **

**And**

**Damon being a dick aka Damon.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, quick question that I would really like you guys to answer. Adele becoming a vampire…what are your thoughts on this? If you would like her to become a vampire, would you like her to become one sooner rather than later or would you rather wait to see her become one? Let me know via review or PM yes? (:**

**Shout outs: **

**Thank you to SomebodyWhoCares, winxgirl1997, ddluzelle, Lucy Greenhill and MysticGirl200 for your reviews. You guys are awesome and MysticGirl200 I would love to be the one to make the previews for the new episodes. :p "Next week on the Vampire Diaries; Klaus gets pissed and throws a hissy fit…again. Meanwhile Damon and Stefan are still mindlessly fighting over a girl who just isn't worth it. I mean come on boys whatever happened to bros before hoes…literally? Get with the program already!" That would be me, all the way. I would probably piss a lot of people off now that I think about it. Oh well, it would still be fun. xD**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC's. **

* * *

**Chapter 4: Disturbing Behavior **

"I just don't know why you want to bring chili to a potluck. Everybody brings chili." Damon continues to rant as he turns away from the stove. Elena is chopping up a tomato behind the island as Adele leans her elbows against the side of it, flipping through a random fashion magazine she found on the table.

Damon moves in easily behind her, his arms sliding around her small waist as he gazes over her shoulder at the magazine. "Hey Ric." He calls out as the history teacher enters the kitchen.

He looks around at them for a moment trying to remember the last time the two of them had hung out at the house, let alone Adele even showing up besides that one night she decided to stay home. "What's up?" He asks noticing the pots and pans, the knifes and the cooking ingredients.

"What time do you want to go to the Lockwood party?" Elena asks before anyone can say anything else and Alaric gives her a look that says he really doesn't want to go.

"Ah. Those founder's parties aren't really my thing." He shakes his head.

"Show up," Damon says, "there's going to be nine other people that brought chili." Elena stops chopping to give Adele a look that says "deal with him" and Adele merely sighs turning her head to look up at Damon behind her.

"It's an old family recipe, okay?" She tells him and he snorts, his hands slipping through the opening at the back of her dress to run along the bare skin of her stomach. She jerks slightly because damn, his hands are cold though his fingers running along her ribs does wonders to heat her up.

"Yeah, I know. I knew your old family. They made sucky chili." Adele bangs her head against the counter softly letting out a small laugh as Elena sends him a glare before breaking into a laugh as well because honestly, it was true. The chili could be a lot better.

"Why are you guys here exactly?" Alaric asks. "Not that I'm not happy you've finally decided to come home…" The comment was directed at Adele and she sends him a bright smile but doesn't respond.

"She knows." Damon mutters mentioning to Elena as he points to something that catches his eye in the magazine, a dress none the less that looked more or less see through and very short, maybe even shorter than the one she currently had on. She shakes her head elbowing him in the ribs. Damon squeezes her sides and she jerks forward bending her knees in order to try and wiggle her way away for that brief moment.

"Hey Mister," She mummers. "Watch it." She straightens up turning her head to raise an eyebrow at him and he smirks leaning forward to kiss her gently.

"Anyways," After watching their public affection Elena turns away with the urge to do the gag motion but suppresses it as she looks up at Alaric who has his eyes narrowed in a very fatherly way at the two. He tares his eyes away from the two as well looking back at Elena. "They think I'm going to break." She says. "I'm not going to break. I am just going to keep making chili, pretend like I didn't just spend the entire summer looking for someone who didn't want to be found."

"She's in denial." Adele says flipping to the next page marking it as a pair of shoes catches her attention.

"I'm not in denial." Elena whispers though she doesn't look up from her chopping.

"No?" Damon asks and this time Elena does look up at the two who are staring back at her. "You're still wearing that necklace. Isn't that the reminder of your unbreakable bond with Stefan?"

*VD*

Damon's cell phone rings and he lets go of Adele to retrieve it from his pocket so he can see who it is. "It's Liz." He tells her moving away from the twins to answer it. Elena glances at Adele who shrugs.

He returns to them a minute later, swinging Adele around to face him as he swipes down capturing her lips in a gentle kiss and Elena huffs turning away from the happy couple, the affection and bitter realty that she can no longer have that with Stefan leaving a bad taste in her mouth.

When she's finally able to pry herself away he explains that Liz needs him to help her with the Bill situation and Adele understands. Caroline's dad was a vampire hater if there ever was one. John hated them as well but in the end he was willing to forget his hatred in favor of his daughter's happiness while Bill would rather torture Caroline in an attempt to help her because now that she's a vampire, she's suddenly broken.

As if they could sense how uncomfortable their affection towards each other was making Elena, Adele throws her arms around Damon's shoulders. "No! Please don't go! Stay with me forever and we can have it all!" She yells her voice overly dramatic. Elena stops chopping, her eyes widening at the scene beginning to happen before her.

"I'm sorry." Damon's voice sounds like a mixture between amusement and pain, like he's trying hard to make himself sound like the idea of leaving her side for a mere hour was too excruciating to think about. "But I have to go. There's a world out there that needs my help and I'd be selfish to stay here and spend the rest of my days happy with you."

Damon sweeps her up into a kiss that she is guessing is meant to be like there last kiss, like he was leaving and never coming back. Adele pushes him away. "Don't make this harder than it already is." She tells him taking a wide step back. "Go. Save the world but don't ever think of coming back. You've broken my heart for the last time."

"I'll never forget you!" He's gone before Elena has the chance to blink and after a few moments of stunned silence she turns to look at Adele who is back to flipping through her magazine like the two didn't just have a complete black and white movie moment in the middle of the kitchen.

"What?" She exclaims when it becomes obvious that Adele isn't going to pay any attention to her.

Adele glances up, a confused gleam in her eyes. "What?" She asks and before she can respond the doorbell rings. "I'm going to get that." Adele pushes off the counter and leaves the kitchen quickly a smirk forming on her lips. That was insanely fun and the expression on Elena's face made it that much better.

She opens the door to Caroline standing there holding out a bowl to her. "I come bearing gifts." She smiles brightly and Adele eyes the bowl.

"Please tell me that's not chili." She groans and Caroline's smile falls as she steps aside and Bonnie comes into view.

"Bonnie!" Elena calls from behind her and Adele makes it out of the way in time for her brunette sister to come barreling through.

When Bonnie pulls away she glances between Caroline and Elena. "I leave town for the summer and everything goes to hell for the both of you." She says causing the two girls to shrug and smile softly before Bonnie looks to Adele.

"Welcome back." Adele smirks and Bonnie smiles. Sure the two weren't _best_ friends but it was safe to say the two had grown closer during the past year, close enough to actually call themselves friends.

"Thanks and I hear you've been having the summer of your life."

"It's been a good one yes." Adele laughs just as Jeremy is coming down the stairs spotting Bonnie by the door.

"Bonnie!" He calls causing the four to turn to look at him, Bonnie's grin widens as she pushes past them all.

"Jeremy." She throws herself into his arms hugging him tightly. Adele rolls her eyes but smiles none the less. Jeremy was finally happy and Adele's thoughts trail off as she sees his smile fall slightly, his eyes fixed on the mirror across from him. She looks but sees nothing but his own reflection. He shakes whatever it is off quickly and Adele lets it go, for now.

The four girls move into the kitchen to finish off the chili as they wait for the time to roll by before there due to head out to the potluck. Elena grabs the crock pot from the counter placing it on the island as Bonnie takes a seat on a bar stool; Adele returns to her previous standing place and Caroline grabs the pot of cooking chili.

"The problem with my dad's normal side of the family is normal made for a really boring summer." Bonnie is saying as Caroline brings the chili over to Elena. They begin pouring it in as Caroline sighs in a dreamy sort of way.

"After the last few days, I would kill for a normal family." She tells them, she seems to realize the task she's preforming and sends Elena and Adele confused glances. "Since when did you guys learn how to cook?" Elena had some minor cooking abilities but Adele didn't. Adele never cooks, the only thing Caroline's ever seen her make is toast and even that was rare.

"Damon helped a little." Elena attempts to which Adele snorts.

"More like a lot." She says and Caroline turns to her with slightly narrowed eyes. She was well aware of Adele relationship though they haven't talked about it much. Caroline made her opinion clear from the beginning and Adele proved she could care less what anyone thought.

"Oh yeah?" She didn't mean for the simple question to sound so snarky but as Adele's sharp blue eyes turn to her she realizes it had.

"Stop judging." Elena speaks up surprising both Adele and Caroline. "He's just trying to be a good boyfriend and... ow!" She exclaims suddenly making the three girls jump.

"Did I splash you?" Caroline asks in a panicked voice but Elena shakes her head her hand coming up to her necklace.

"No, no, my necklace." She breaths pulling the silver ball away from her skin and left behind is a burn mark in the same shape. Elena looks up at them alarmed. "It burned me." She unlatches it, pulling it off her neck to hold it up in front of her.

"Let me see." Bonnie whispers leaning closer to examine it, she reaches out touching it but quickly pulls her hand back as it sparks and Elena lets it go in surprise.

"Ouch." Adele mutters sarcastically after a minute of standing there staring at the necklace lying against the counter top.

"What the hell was that?" Caroline snaps placing the now empty pot on the stove top and her hands on her hips.

"I don't know but I can probably figure it out." Bonnie says as they continue to stare at it.

"Well okay, go on." Elena says looking from the necklace to Bonnie who gives her a wide eyed stare.

"I'm not touching it! What if it shocks me again?"

"Well I'm not touching it." Elena deadpans looking to Caroline who shakes her head stepping away.

"Oh for shit sakes!" Adele exclaims reaching forward.

"Adele, no!" She plunks it from the counter by the sliver chain dangling it in front of her for them all to see.

"See." Adele says holding it out to Elena. "It's fine."

*VD*

Adele is sitting on the grass, her legs folded up under her as she's waiting with Elena and Caroline for Bonnie to come back with her grimoire. She was focused on her phone, leaving her completely unaware of Caroline and Elena's eyes watching her every move as her fingers are easily sliding against the touch screen key board of her phone. They watch as her lips twitch every so often, like whoever she's texting is highly amusing.

_Remind me not to eat any of the chili. Any of it. –Damon _

_I shall do no such thing. –Adele _

_You want me to get sick. –Damon _

_I've always wanted to play nurse. –Adele _

_Why haven't you told me this before? There is nothing I want more in life then to see you in a sexy nurse costume. If I could see that, my immortal life would be complete. –Damon _

_Find me one and if you're good I'll model it for you. –Adele _

_Challenge accepted. (; -Damon_

"I have an identification spell that might be able to tell me what magic affected the necklace." Adele tunes back in, placing her phone on the grass next to her as Bonnie finally returns. Elena digs into her pocket pulling the necklace out and handing it over. "It's going to take a while, so tell me if anyone's coming, ok?" They agree quickly and Adele's phone buzzes next to her.

_It's going to be short, very short. That's a no brainer. –Damon_

She snorts shaking her head choosing to ignore that. Caroline has gone back to watching her with narrowed eyes. "So are you and Damon like serious, serious? Or is this just like a faze or something causal?"

Adele looks up partly surprised. "What?"

Bonnie's shoulders slump as she looks up from the book open in her lap. "Caroline." She says in a warning tone but she waves her off, telling her to focus.

"As your best friend who worries for you daily, what is the deal with you and Damon?" She blurts out.

"We're pretty serious Caroline. You should know that considering I've been with him the whole summer and it's been one of the best summers ever for me." She answers sending Caroline a look that tells her not to start but being Caroline she ignores it.

"I know but just because he's sweet and caring towards you doesn't make him any less Damon. If my own father, who I love dearly, can't change me, no one's changing Damon. Not even you." She tells her feeling like as her friend, it was the right thing to do. She doesn't want her having high hopes about him.

"I don't want to change him Caroline!" She exclaims surprising both Elena and Caroline. "I've never wanted to change him. I love him because of him, if he changed he wouldn't be the man I love now would he? It's not me who wants him to change its everyone around us you guys included."

"Uh, guys." Adele snaps her eyes away from Caroline, towards Bonnie only to let out a surprised squeak. The necklace was levitating and by the way Bonnie was leaning back looking like she wanted to be as far away from it as possible probably means she's not the one doing it.

"What are you doing?" Caroline asks but Bonnie shakes her head.

"I'm not doing anything." She's watching it rise higher and higher into the air. "It has its own magic."

"That…" Everyone's eyes fall to Adele. "Is freaking creepy." She looks up at Elena. "I say chuck it before it kills us all."

*VD*

He picks up the small card sitting in front of one of the pots of chili's snorting at the name Fell. The Fell recipe was bad as well, maybe even worse than the Gilbert recipe. Actually now that he's thinking about it most of the founding families made horrible chili. He places the card back as Alaric appears across the table holding out a beer to him.

He takes it, grateful. If he was supposed to get through this whole event, he would need a little bit of a boast. "I'm going to let you in on a little secret..." Damon starts as they make their way towards the end of the table. "Founders parties are just an excuse for the council to gather in back rooms and plot against vampires." Alaric moves around the table to stand with Damon and he nods though that wasn't much of a secret, anybody who knew about vampire and the council could figure that out, not that many people besides the council and them knows about vampires.

Damon turns away to look at the chili once more. He was hungry but there was no way in hell he was eating any of that. "Hey," He sends Alaric a glance who has stopped walking to turn to him. "I think you need to slow it down with Adele."

Damon turns to him fully, not sure if exactly what he was hearing was correct. "Excuse me?" He basically hisses to his friend, one of his only friends in the town besides Adele and Andie but Andie was dead now so that meant it was just Alaric and Adele. He was already feeling the swirl of anger at the direction this conversion was heading.

"Whatever you two are doing, whatever's going on, you need to be careful, I'm not sure it's a good idea right now." He tells him, truthfully. There sudden relationship was beginning to worry him. Adele barely ever came home anymore. She was basically moved out and both Gilbert's and he knew that though Adele claims that it's not like that.

"I don't think it's any of your business, Ric." Damon spits. He didn't like being told what to do, he didn't like people trying to change him and he didn't like people judging his relationship with Adele. He understands that she's too good for him; he understands that she deserves more but damn it, he's selfish. She's his and nobody is taking her away from him. Ever.

"It is my business." Alaric insists. "I'm supposed to look after her. She's gone through a lot Damon, she's been hurt, she's has a lot of opened wounds and she needs a chance to heal, she doesn't need to be hurt again, she can't afford to be hurt again." In other words he was telling him that she was damaged and Damon almost growls because he knows that.

"I'm not going to hurt her." He snaps. He could feel the thread of control on his anger slipping quickly. "I know what's she's been through. She's damaged and I know that but she trust me to love her and help her so what do you think I'm doing?"

"What I think is you need to slow it down." Alaric says standing his ground as Damon glares. Before he has the chance to say something or do anything Liz pops up behind Alaric looking between the two tense men.

"Damon? Sorry, the mayor just called for the council meeting." She informs him so he walks off resisting the urge to bump shoulders with Alaric as he passes.

*VD*

She's walking down the hall towards one of the bathrooms. She wanted to be as far away from Caroline and Elena as possible. Their disapproval of her relationship with Damon always rang clear around them whenever they we're together. They couldn't seem to get over it, Bonnie seemed to be the only one out of the three who either didn't mind their relationship, or simply just didn't care which was just sad all on its own. So much for a best friend's support.

"The other side? Is that…is that what it's called?" Adele slows to a stop just outside the informal dining room. The double doors are cracked letting her see in just a little but she can clearly make out Jeremy standing there talking to…nothing. There was nothing there; he was talking to thin air like there _was _someone standing there.

"Wait…Well what about Vicki?" Adele's eyebrows rise. Vicki? As in Vicki Donavon? The Vicki Donavon she killed, Vicki Donavon? The _dead_ Vicki Donavon? Adele moves forward, pushing against the door, letting it swing open slightly. He doesn't notice her and she takes the opportunity to lean against the door frame watching him talk to the air.

"Like the windows breaking." He breathes as if finally understanding something and Adele frowns. What the hell? Is he crazy? Oh my god, he died. Is this a side-effect of coming back? Is he going crazy now? She watches as he looks down at his hand confusion twisted into his features. "Do it again." He says lifting his hand slowly and he suddenly smiles softly at the nothing in front of him and Adele's finally seen enough.

"What" Jeremy jumps his eyes wide as he catches sight of her. "The hell are you doing?" She demands looking between him and the air in front of him.

"How long have you been standing there?" He asks rushing forward to peek out into the hall.

"Long enough." She says as he pushes her into the room closing the door. "Yeah that's smart because if you're planning on talking to yourself it would be a wise idea to close the door all the way, that way nobody over hears you and thinks you're I don't know…crazy?"

"I'm not crazy." He assures her and she simply raises an eyebrow looking past him to the spot he was previously standing. "And I'm not talking to myself." He looks away from her, glancing behind him briefly before letting out a deep breathe. "I'm talking to Anna." He lets out, relief washing over him in a cold wave. He didn't realize how much he wanted to tell someone until now, with his sister standing in front of him looking like he'd lost his mind. "I'm serious Adele. I'm talking to Anna."

"Anna is dead, Jeremy." She says softly and he nods.

"I know. I don't know why but I see her, I can talk to her. I think it has something to do with when I died and came back. Bonnie warned that there could be…side effects." He explains hoping like hell she would believe him. But she should. She's his sister, she has to believe him.

"So what you're telling me is that now that you've died and come back you can see ghost?"

"I can see Anna." He says. "And Vicki. Though Anna tells me I need to push her out that I shouldn't talk to her." Adele stares at him before her eyes move around the room like she's looking for something.

"She's behind me. She says you look great, that happiness looks amazing on you. Which she's right you know. You look really good." He offers her a small smile as her stare is completely flat.

"Don't even try to redirect this Jeremy. Do you know how serious this is? Something's need to stay dead." She looks behind Jeremy, in the air. "No offence Anna."

"She says none taken." Adele ignores him.

"Do you realize what would happen if Bonnie found out you've been talking to your dead ex-girlfriends and you didn't tell her right away. Besides the fact that it _is_ your ex-girlfriends that you're seeing your still seeing the dead and that is vital information that she needs to know."

"I know." Jeremy sighs, throwing his hands up in a dramatic fashion. "I know but I don't know, I don't know how she'll react. I don't want to lose her but I'm afraid I might."

Adele nods in agreement, not one to try and spare his feelings. "The longer you put off telling her the more likely it is that you will." She places a hand on his shoulder. "You're happy with you Jer. I know you are. Don't screw it up." She turns on her heels where she swings the door open. As she's turning into the hall he catches a glimpse of someone else, someone standing in the doorway across from the dining room. It was a guy, someone Jeremy didn't know, but he's watching his sister watching her disappear down the hall before disappearing –completely vanishing, his self, seeming not to realize he'd been caught, whoever he was.

*VD*

"Please tell me it's time to go." Alaric asks the two girls walking towards the front door. Caroline and Elena glance up at him but before they can answer Adele slides in between the teacher and her sister seeming to morph out of nothing like she was so famous for doing.

"Beyond." She expresses before glancing around them. "Where's Damon? He was supposed to meet me in the back but he wasn't there and he's not answering his phone."

Caroline gets a head of them turning on them and making them come to a stop as her gaze fixes solely on Adele. "Probably off doing bad things to good people." She snips and Adele straightens her shoulders, her eyes darkening and her lips pulling into a tight line. Seeing her best friends new stance Caroline quickly realizes she might've pushed a little too far for one night and quickly sends her an apologetic smile. "Consider me the honesty police." She says softly but Adele holds her stare.

She was sick of people judging him, judging them. It was no one's business but their own and the least Caroline could do is be happy that she's happy instead of continuously bad mouthing Damon _and _their relationship. She was sick of hearing she could do better. Adele couldn't do any better than him if she tried because in her mind there was no one better.

Caroline shifts her gaze away, wanting the stare down to end but catches a sight she'd rather not see which causes her face to fall completely and Adele noticing turns as well and with a sigh she realizes what it is that has Caroline looking ready to cry. They might not be seeing eye to eye right now but she was still her best friend.

"Why would he even show up here?" Adele whispers tearing her eyes away from Bill Forbes, hadn't Damon compelled him to leave town? What the hell was going on? Elena leans forward to peer around Adele and Alaric spotting the problem right away.

"I don't know…" Caroline says beginning to shake her head. "But I can't…"

"I know." Adele cuts her off. "Go. I'll call you later." Caroline nods before taking off and Adele turns to look back at Bill Forbes acting like the most respectable person in the world, like he wasn't a complete psycho who could stand to torture his own daughter.

"Okay what was that about?" Alaric asks, feeling very much out of the loop on this and Adele turns away to look up at him.

"Speaking of doing bad things to good people…" She mummers mentioning to the door, silently telling them it was time to go. They leave, closing the door behind them and as their feet hit the pavement of the driveway the door opens back up.

"Wait, wait. Huston, we have a problem." Damon calls after them jogging to catch up and Adele sends him a look over her shoulder but doesn't stop.

"Where have you been? You totally ditched me and you weren't answering your phone." She scolds as he catches up, falling into step beside Elena.

"Managing Bill Forbes." He tells them truthfully. "Apparently he's impervious to compulsion." Damon sends an annoyed glance back to the house as there making their way quickly across the yard.

"How?" Alaric is the first to ask.

"I have no idea. But he threatened to out me." Damon sounded both annoyed and disturbed at this to which Adele frowns. Yes, because that is exactly what they need. "Don't get me started on the irony of that."

"What did you do to him? How do you know the compulsion doesn't work?" Elena asks seeming to focus solely on that.

"I don't think that's the most important piece of information he's mentioned Elena." Adele says to which Damon sends her a look that tells her she's dead on. Who cares about the compulsion when he's being _threatened?_

"What does he want?" Adele asks.

"He wants to control the council, says it's been compromised." Damon tells them to which Alaric snorts before exclaiming that it has. "He wants to put vervain in the town's water supply."

Adele nearly chokes. Is he kidding? She really hopes he's kidding but before she can express her concern on the matter Elena is speaking up. "Maybe it's not a bad idea." Adele wants to slap her sister. She wants to slap her really, really hard right across the face. "I mean, it'll help you keep yourself in control now that Stefan's not here to..." Adele stops walking first, a hand coming up to rest on her forehead. She couldn't just leave it alone could she?

"To what?" Damon snaps stopping as well causing the other two to skid to a stop. "To keep me in check? Make me behave? I should have killed him this morning."

"Alright, guys. Can we please clam down?" Adele calls from slightly behind them. This was escalating very quickly and Adele was suddenly afraid of the outcome.

But of course they ignore her.

"She's Caroline's father Damon!" Elena half yells disgusted at the idea that he'd even thought of killing him. Like the idea that Damon would even suggest killing _anyone_ was completely out of character for him.

"Yeah, and when I kill him, she'll have one more parent than we do." Damon growls out his eyes locking on the house as he tries walking away from them, back towards the Lockwood mansion.

"Guys!" Adele calls louder. "Please!"

"Oh, come on Damon!" Alaric yells pushing a hand against his chest, causing the vampire to stop staring up at him with cold eyes.

"You're repeatedly killing my buzz today, Ric. Step aside."

Alaric shakes his head. "Yeah, it's not going to happen."

"Damon…" Adele moves forward finally, calling out his name in warning but still she's ignored.

"Your temporary funeral." He shrugs with an air of complete indifference.

"Damon, no!" Adele yells springing forward but it's too late and Alaric hits the grass with a thud, his neck snapped.

"Damon, no!" Elena echoes, glaring at him "What is wrong with you?" She snaps but he merely looks at her before walking away making a point to avoid Adele's eyes all together knowing one look and he'd fall to pieces in front of her but he could still feel the anger and frustration rolling off her in waves as she watches after him.

Oh, yeah.

She wasn't coming home tonight.

*VD*

Elena is bending down next to Alaric, drumming her finger tips against her knee. "You see." She calls out to Adele who is still standing, looking in the direction Damon had gone. Adele snaps her gaze towards Elena who mentions down to Alaric with a wave of her hand. "He's not a good person Adele."

"This would have never happened if you could just learn to keep your mouth shut." Adele hisses out causing Elena's eyes to widen in surprise. Oh, so Damon flying off the handle is her fault? "Don't look at me like that! I warned you! You didn't listen to me! You can't go around trying to change someone who doesn't need to or want to be changed!" Adele is furious, at Damon, at Elena and at herself. She should've stopped this, she's should've never let it get this far.

"I'm not trying to change him!" Elena yells pushing herself to her feet.

"Bullshit!" Adele snaps walking forward. "All the judgmental stares you give him, the consist reminders that Stefan was a "good guy", the 'maybe it's a good thing, it can help you control yourself'. I don't understand what it is with you and Caroline. You guys are always talking about how Damon and I shouldn't be together because he's a bad guy, he's bad for me, I could do better or it can't possibly be forever, it's impossible she's human, you're not. My relationship with him is none of your god damn business and this 'he needs to change' shit is getting really old really fast. Stop trying to turn him into Stefan because Stefan isn't here!" She quickly begins walking away wanting to be far away from Elena.

"Adele!" Elena calls throwing her hands up. "Come on…"

"No!" She snaps turning back around. "You and Caroline can take your judgmental little opinions and stares and choke on em'! So much for wanting me to be happy right?"

*VD*

She enters the room just as Caroline is throwing Damon off of her. He hits the wall hard, sliding down to the floor as Caroline rushes to her father before rushing them both out. Damon reaches up brushing his finger across his lip, wiping away blood. "Oh bummer." He mutters. "I love a good girl fight."

She looks down at him, her expression saying it all. She wasn't just upset with him, she was disappointed. The look has him stumbling to his feet in a completely ungrateful manor. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Adele doesn't answer right away because she doesn't have an answer. She's not sure what exactly to make of the whole situation here.

"Why am I looking at you like what Damon?" She finally asks.

"Like I'm someone you don't recognize." He spits. "Like you don't know who I am because you do Adele. You do know who I am."

"I do know who you are! And for the last damn time, it is not this person!" She takes a deep breath trying to calm herself down but it was proving to be a difficult task as she runs a hand over her forehead. She hasn't felt this out of control of her emotions since she killed Kyle, a hunter they'd tried to get information out of only to find out he was the hunter who killed Tony.

"I'm not what? A monster? Sorry to disappoint _Kitten_ but last time I checked I'm still a vampire!" This was quickly becoming another screaming match, one that would rival the one she just had with Elena out in the yard.

"That doesn't make you a monster Damon!" She moves forward, coming further into the room to stand in front of him. "Being a vampire doesn't automatically make you a monster, your actions are what make you a monster! It's the same for humans! We are classified as monsters by our actions not by what we have to do to survive! You have to drink blood to survive Damon, that's fine but going around and killing people just because it's fun is not who you are! You are not that person! As much as you try to betray yourself to be, I know you!" She pauses to swallow, angry tears willing in her eyes. "If you we're that guy Damon, I wouldn't love you the way that I do."

Damon stares at her. It's all he can do, her blunt confession making his chest tighten.

"I know you like to cause trouble. You're extremely mischievous and impulsive and reckless but you are not a monster. Monster's, they don't care about people Damon; they don't feel anything for anyone but themselves. You care. You love me and you love Stefan. You care about Elena and Alaric and you cared about Andie and as much as you like to deny it you care about Bonnie and you care about Caroline, Liz and Carol but you refuse to show them that because your afraid of rejection, you pretend around them, you make them think you're some bad guy so they don't have a chance to get to know _you _but Damon, I'm not them. You can't do this with me. I don't like seeing you this way and I refuse to watch you try and destroy everything you've done for yourself, everything you've built here. If you want to pretend to be a monster because for some reason it's easier that way then fine but I don't want anything to do with it."

And she walks away, leaving him with that long and angry speech, leaving him alone with his own tortuous thoughts in the darkest parts of his mind. She was right for the most part. He didn't get the warm satisfaction when killing people that be pretends he does but he used to. When he was a younger vampire, he liked killing. When his emotions we're off hunting his prey and killing them was what he lived for. Now though, there was always that ping of guilt and the numbness. The only time he could remember feeling like that when killing was before the drama of Stefan and Katherine back when he was in the war.

He realizes now, that he has changed.

While he wasn't a grade A citizen, he wasn't the ruthless, cold blooded monster he'd been when he first arrived with his mission to save Katherine. Something along the way had changed him, something in the form of his 5 foot 6, blonde and blue eyed girlfriend, the one he'd light the world on fire for.

And while he had changed, he'd still kill anyone, he'd hunt down and destroy anyone who'd ever even think of causing her harm, anyone who'd try and take her from him.

In one smooth motion, Adele Gilbert had swipe into his life and taken it over completely.

And he wasn't surprised because while he loved Katherine because of everything that she was, Adele was just that much better without even trying. He'd known it since they met but denied it completely because he'd been blinded by Katherine.

To him Katherine was beautiful but Adele was something else entirely, he had no words to describe it. Katherine was devious but so was Adele, she was not only devious but smart. She could get exactly what she wants from someone and make them think that they had _wanted_ to give it to her without the use of compulsion.

Where Katherine is selfish, Adele is loyal. There is nothing she wouldn't do for the ones she cared about even if it meant she was the one getting hurt or worse killed. Where Katherine was just plain cruel and ruthless with mercy being something she's never heard of, Adele _could_ be cruel and ruthless but she cared about people. As long as people stayed on her good side and did nothing to anger her, they we're in the clear unless she just didn't like them, then they we're kind of screwed.

Adele was everything he wanted, everything he needed. She understands him, she _knows_ him –the real him, and she loves him as much as he loves her so why is he always screwing up?

*VD*

"Adele…" Adele glances up from her phone, she's sitting cross legged in the middle of her bed at her own house with her bedroom door locked letting Elena, Jeremy and Alaric –whenever he came home from being dead, know to leave her alone but Elena doesn't seem to get the message. "Please! Come out with us. We can talk. I think we really need to talk."

She was talking about going shopping with her and Caroline. Adele springs from her bed moving over to her door where she unlocks it, cracking it open to look at her sister. "Why would I do that? So you guys can tell me how much of a mistake I'm making by dating a guy like him? So I can listen to you guys talk about him like he's the worst person to ever walk the earth? No thank you." She goes to close the door but Elena stops her, pushing a hand against it.

"We're not going to do that. We just want to talk okay?" Adele stares at her; she doesn't want to go out with them. She doesn't want to listen to them talk bad about Damon. As much as he pissed her off last night, she's mad at him but he still her boyfriend and she still loves him and she's not about to listen to the two people who should be the happiest for her shame her for who she loves. She doesn't understand how when she wasn't dating him but it was so clear that she loved him that they we're okay with it but now that she was finally with him, it was the most unthinkable thing to ever happen.

"Fine but one bad comment about him and I'm leaving." Elena nods holding up a hand.

"I promise."

*VD*

Despite wanting to talk to her, they both had little to say as there walking through town square one of them on each side of her. Caroline was uneasy, Adele could feel it and Elena was walking awkwardly besides her, glancing at anything but her.

"If one of you doesn't start talking, I'm leaving." She states looking between the two girls.

"I'm sorry." Elena blurts out. "I realized after you left that I was trying to change Damon but I think if he wants to be in my –our life,"

"But nothing." Adele cuts her off. "Damon isn't here for anyone to bend to their liking. Just because you don't agree with some of the things he does, just because you don't like some aspects of his personality doesn't mean you have the right to try and change him especially when he's not even your boyfriend. He's mine and I happen to love him exactly the way he is. That is all that matters to him. The more you push him to change the more damage you're going to do because Damon is an asshole and will do horrible things just to spite you."

"It's nice to know you can attempt that he's an asshole." Caroline mutters, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Yeah," Adele stops causing the two girls to stop as well, turning to look at her. "I can attempt it. It's not like I'm blind to the fact that my boyfriend can be a completely bastard at times but you two continue to act as though I'm so blinded by him that I don't know who it is I'm dealing with." Caroline and Elena glance between each other and Adele huffs at them. "News flash, I know Damon better than either of you. Hell I know Damon better than anyone in town which is why I'm telling you both to back off. I love you guys, I do but I love Damon to and I feel like you're trying to make me choose my sister and my best friend or the man I love, who's helped me through so much and I'm not going to do it. I refuse and if you try to make me you're making the decision for me."

"We're not trying to make you choose Adele." Caroline sighs dropping her arms to her sides. "We're just worried about you. We know how much you've been through and we can't stand the idea that Damon could hurt you."

"Of course he could but I'm also completely capably of hurting him as well." She reminds them.

"Adele if whatever you guys have doesn't work out I'm afraid you wouldn't be the same and I'm afraid that Damon would become worse." Elena explains to her and Adele sighs reaching up to brush a stray hair out of her eyes.

"You don't need to be worrying about that. I do but I would like it if ever I needed you guys for Damon related issues that you'd be there for me without the judgmental stares or the 'I told you so's.'"

"You can." Caroline says quickly. "I might not agree in your choice of a boyfriend but I'll always be here for you. You should know that."

Adele narrows her eyes slightly watching her. She should, shouldn't she? It's just with all the drama of hating Damon, Adele had become doubtful. She finally nods. "You're right." She says. "I do know that." She smiles softly causing Caroline to smile back before her eyes catch something off to the side and it falls slowly. Adele looks over as well. Bill Forbes is walking towards his car. "Do you want me to…?"

Caroline shakes her head sending her a small smile. "I got it."

"Alright. Call me later." And she runs off, towards her father leaving just her and Elena.

"You know you can come to me to right? I'll always be here for you." Adele looks over to Elena silent. It wasn't that she thought she couldn't go to Elena for help, it was just that Elena always seemed to have her own problems that come before anyone else's. It was for that reason growing up that Elena and Adele we're never as close as they should've been.

"Yeah. I know." She mummers.

*VD*

Damon grips the door handle of the front door, the light knocking automatically stopping. He knew that whoever was behind the door wasn't Adele because she would've just come in and she was the only person he wanted to see right now but she was ignoring him big time.

He opens it a ping of surprise flaring at Elena who is standing there with wide brown eyes. They stand there for a minute, somewhat awkwardly. Damon becoming increasingly uncomfortable lets a smirk slip. "I'll accept written apologies only." He mocks.

Elena's lips twitch as if she's trying to suppress a smile but soon realizes that it wasn't a smile she was trying to hold back it was a smirk of her own that alerts him right away that this wasn't Elena. "Trouble in paradise?" She mocks, her tone laughing at him and he takes to banging his head against the open wooden door.

"Katherine." He groans. "Wonderful. What do you want?"

"I'm just a girl looking for a partner in crime." She sings as Damon takes it upon himself to turn away, wanting to be as far from this scene as possible. "You feel like hitting the road?" She calls after him. "Getting the hell out of dodge?"

"Impeccable timing." He says turning back. "I was told I need to slow it down." His tone is bitter and she takes full advantage of it moving into the house with no resistance, surprising her. Elena died but Adele was still alive, she must've given the house back.

"Is that a yes? I'll drive."

He turns back away from her. Could he really go on a road trip with her? If Adele found out, she'd be pissed. If there's anyone she hates more than that bastard James it would be Katherine. The two couldn't stand each other. He pulls out his phone quickly dialing her familiar number and places the phone to his ear but once again it rings twice and hits voicemail. He clinches it pushing it back into his pocket as he turns back around. "Why not?" He calls. "Walls are starting to close in on me around here. Where are we going?"

"Away from here. That's all I'm going to give you for right now. But believe me..." She pulls out something from her pocket, and dangles it in front of her. It's Elena's necklace. "It's good."

* * *

**Previews for the next chapter: **

**Damon decides to take a road trip, with Katherine,**

**It's senior prank night at the school,**

**And**

**It goes terribly wrong but then again what's new? **


	5. Chapter 5

**Well, what do we have here? Another update I see? I feel like I'm on some kind of roll over here. It's very rare for me to update twice in one month but yet this is my 4****th**** update in the span of just a little over a month. It's all you guys, you guys keep me going. **

**I wanted to have this out as of like yesterday but shit happens and it didn't work out that way. Boo. :p Anyways, I want to apologize now for past mistakes that I've made in chapters, mistakes I've made in this chapter and mistakes I will make in later chapters. I'll attempt spelling has always been a bit iffy for me, I'm getting better I noticed but still and grammar mistakes of course and punctuation mistakes as well. Just try your best to move past them. When proof reading I don't catch all the mistakes or even probably half of them so for that I'm sorry. **

**Shout outs:**

**Thank you to MysticGirl200 (Your reviews always make me laugh), Lucy Greenhill, SomebodyWhoCares, Klandgraf2007, Guest and snmuenst for your amazing reviews. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC's.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Reckoning **

She sat cross legged on top of a desk in one of the many classrooms in the school. Elena, Tyler, Bonnie and Caroline we're there as well, the four of them setting up mouse traps throughout the whole room. Senior prank night was a night they'd been waiting for since starting high school but now Adele just wasn't that into it. She could tell that Elena and Bonnie weren't either but they we're there for Caroline who in fact was into it.

"You know…" Tyler says moving his way past her. "You could help." He says and she looks up from her phone sending him an overly bright smile.

"Can't." She says uncrossing her legs and holding them up. She wiggles her toes. "Open toed heels. Expensive heels at that." Tyler scoffs like it's the most ridiculous excuse he's ever heard and she laughs because it probably is.

"Where's Michael?" Caroline asks causing Adele to freeze. "He's usually the one doing everything you don't want to do. He should be here."

"He's in a bit of a jam at the moment with work and his sister's surprise visit."

"And Jasmine." Tyler sings. Adele grins at him.

"Jasmine and Michael?" Bonnie speaks up from the back of the room, looking up from the mouse trap she's setting up. "Since when?"

All at once the mouse traps go off causing Adele to shirk in surprise, drawing her legs up to her chest and hugging them tightly as everyone else jumps up forgetting all about Michael. The light flicks on causing everyone to look over, seeing Matt standing there looking like he just came from the workout room.

"Oh come on!" Caroline exclaims as Adele starts to laugh. "Do you know how long it took for us to set all this up?"

"Forgot about senior prank night?" Tyler asks.

"Clearly." Matt answers gazing around at all the mouse traps he was now responsible for setting off. He wouldn't be surprised if Caroline makes him reset them all.

"How could you forget? We've only been waiting for this since like freshman year." Caroline sounds deeply hurt as she gazes between the four of them.

"Yeah Matt," Elena speaks up from now sitting on a desk a row over from her sister. "If I'm doing this, you're doing this."

"I'm kind of surprised any of you are doing this." Matt tells them causing Tyler to throw up his arms and Adele to scoff.

"You're not the only one." She tells him.

"Caroline's making us." Bonnie says and Caroline huffs.

"We're about to be seniors. These are the memories that will stay with us forever, and if we don't..." Adele quickly cuts her off.

"And if we don't create these memories now, then what's the point of it all?" Caroline glares playfully at her crossing her arms across her chest.

"Go ahead and make fun. I don't care."

"You're all lame." Tyler bends to pick up a duffle bag. He swings it onto his shoulder. "And I've got ten more classrooms to prank." He leaves and Adele pushes herself from the desk making her way towards the door now that the threat of ruining her heels on some mouse traps was out of the way.

"Hey." Bonnie calls and she stops turning back. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go superglue Alaric's desk shut." She smirks. "I'm making memories." She leaves grinning as she hears Caroline call out to her that she loves her.

Once she makes it to Alaric's class room she quickly flips on the light and closes and locks the door, wanting just one god damn moment of peace to get her thoughts together. She takes a seat in Alaric's desk chair spinning around a few times. She picks the lock on the first drawer in his desk not surprised to find it was where he hid his bourbon stash. She takes the bottle out examining it with a slight smile before it slowly falls and she's reaching for her phone.

She dials his number slowly only to stare at it for a minute. Why would he answer now if he hadn't been answering before? He just completely up and left with no warning, she'd been trying to get a hold of him since she found out he's left with no such luck. When she'd finally cooled off enough to have a civil conversion with him without them screaming at each other, she returned to the boarding house only to find him not there. His Camaro was there but he wasn't. She thought maybe he was in town but that been exactly where she came from. She ran into Liz so he obviously wasn't with her and she checked the grill and he wasn't there either. She stayed at the house that night but he never showed up.

She starts the call pulling the phone up to her ear with a silent plea for him to answer. All she needed was to know he was okay. She was worried and hurt, hurt that he didn't care enough to at least leave her a voicemail telling her where he was going. No instead he wants to make her sick with worry.

Part of her is worried that he's not coming back.

But that's just ridicules.

He wouldn't just leave her because of a small fight because that's exactly what it was. Small especially compared to the fight they had about James. That fight had been explosive and violent. He'd gotten so mad that he punched a hole through the T.V in there room and she'd gotten so mad _at him_ that she threw a vase at his head all before he stormed off, leaving her crying in the middle of the bedroom.

Of course even then he returned apologizing and offering her comfort in an obvious dark time in which she needed him and then of course the painful all day shopping trip that went along with buying a new TV the next day and that took _forever_, she still doesn't understand why it takes so long for men to buy a TV but that is completely beside the point. She obviously wanted to work this out but yet he was nowhere to be found.

The call hits voicemail and she considers hanging up but maybe it's time she said something. She'd called so many times only to hang up without at least leaving a voicemail.

*VD*

Damon was annoyed.

He didn't realize at the time how much of a bad idea this actually was. He could barely stand to look at Katherine how could he expect to be stuck in car with her for hours on end especially when she never stops talking.

"Are you hungry?" She abruptly changes the subject once more. "Let's stop for a bite. A truck stop or a trucker."

"Stop being cute." He finally snaps but she lets it roll right off her only so few can.

"It's not possible." She grins.

"We've been driving around aimlessly for hours. Where are we going?" He asks the same question for the fifth time and this time he gets an actually answer, not a change of subject but an answer of course not the one he wants but still.

"Far enough away so that you can't go running back." Damon's phone buzzes in his pocket but he makes no move to look at it. He knows who it is and he can't bring himself to answer it. What was he supposed to tell her? He ran off with Katherine on a spontaneous road trip for god knows what reason because he was _mad_? She's be pissed. She'd go all black eyed demon on him, quite possibly throw another vase at him or better yet she might stab him again and this time the knife would be made of wood and it would hurt like a bitch and she wouldn't do it because he decided to take a road trip, she'd do it because he decided to take a road trip with _Katherine._ That was the sin of all sins when it came to his little vixen. She'll have his head on a stake when she finds out.

There was absolutely no love lost between the two of them, they hate each other with a deep burning passion. You would think Katherine's hatred would fall more heavily on Elena but that wasn't the case and Damon thinks it might just be because nothing she's done, making Jenna stab herself, killing Caroline, none of it had made her scared of Katherine. It just pissed her off, just made her hate her that much more to the point where if she had the opening, Adele would kill her and Katherine knows despite being over 500 hundred years old, given the right opening her doppelgänger sister would do it without battening an eyelash or breaking a nail. She'd do it with a certain grace that even Katherine Pierce can't match.

"Not to worry." He says, wanting to distract himself from his thoughts. "Mystic Falls and I are on a bit of a break."

"You and Mystic Falls or you and Blondie and her friends and family?" Katherine asks her voice dropping drastically as she shifts in her seat to look at him more fully. She couldn't deny that the guy was good looking, hell who was she kidding? He was downright sexy.

"Let's just say a few people and I are having a bit of difference of opinion on how I should behave." He's sticking to telling her as little as possible. He doesn't want to give her anything that could be used against them in the future and knowing Katherine the way that he does, _anything_ he says could be used to mess with them.

"Ooh. Let me guess..."A few people" meaning of course Blondie's sister wants you to be the hero, and you don't like playing pretend while Blondie is telling you she just wants you to be you." Her fingers are running across his jaw and he wonders exactly what her motive here is.

"Something like that." He mummers turning to finally look at her finding her very, very close. His gaze falling to her mischievous deep brown eyes, the same eyes that used to make him tremble in want now all he could think about was a pair of deep blue eyes that did far more then make him want the girl they belonged to. Truth be told nothing about Katherine screamed out at him anymore, nothing about her turned him on even in the slightest.

"There loss." She whispers before kissing him which only surprises him for a second before he's kissing her back only to push her off of him a second later and to say she looked pissed would be an understatement.

"What are you doing?" She demands those brown eyes sparkling in anger.

"I thought I'd give it a shot. Truth is you just don't do it for me anymore." He sends her a filthy smirk that has her wanting to punch something. This was the second time he's done this but yet if she was a certain blonde haired and blue eyed little whore he'd be all over her.

*VD*

Finally leaving the little bit of comfort she was able to find in Alaric's class room, she's nearing the gym ready to help out in there or maybe find an excuse to go home, it still wasn't too to crawl into bed with a bowl of Ice Cream and watch The Notebook because that was every girls go to movie when they had relationship problems. She could even try to drag Caroline with her, maybe Elena too and Bonnie. They could suffer from her poor mood as well, it's not like Damon's bed isn't big enough.

Her cell phone buzzes and for a flitting moment Adele thinks it might be Damon but with a small ping of disappointment she realizes it's only Jasmine sending her yet another picture, this one of Jackie, Michael and some weird Anime looking stuffed panda that was really adorable because almost everyone knew that her favorite animal was a in fact a panda. It was good to see him becoming much more comfortable around her.

She pushes through the double doors of the gym, her eyes fixed on her phone when she hears her name being called. She glances up for half a second only to have to do a double take when she realizes who it was calling to her and why.

"Well what a pleasant surprise." Klaus's thick accented voice calls across the gym to her and standing next to him is Elena with Dana Weather and some guy named Chad is there as well, Dana is balancing her foot up in the air. "I see you've healed nicely. It's good to see Love." Despite her growing fear Elena's curiosity gets the better of her and she sends Adele a confused look to which she only shakes her head coming closer to them.

"What is," She trails off glancing around them. She glances over Dana and Chad before her eyes land back on Klaus and Elena. "What is going on?"

"Well as it would turn out someone has been hiding a very big secret from me. How I didn't realize it sooner is just foolish on my part considering the way I found you almost being mauled by a werewolf in the Smokey Mountains. I barely even stopped to question what was really going on there, but I guess that was my fault, blinded by beauty and all."

Elena is staring at her again, with a confused and baffled expression. Adele realizes that if they make it out of here, she had a lot of explaining to do.

*VD*

Damon pulls the car into the parking lot of a park the first chance he gets. He was sick of driving around aimlessly with no clear direction a head. He was sick of being stuck in a car with Katherine. He's never been one for patients and at the moment they were running very thin.

He quickly turns the car off and gets out slamming the door shut. Katherine quickly follows. "Why are we stopping?" She demands.

"I thought we might want to stretch our legs. Take a break from the sexual tension." He mocks and rolls his eyes at the flat look she gives him in return. "I'm tired of driving. It's your turn." He holds the keys up to her and she shrugs moving around the car to grab them only for him to throw them when she's in reach. "We're not going anywhere until you spill your guts." He says crossing his arms and leaning back against the car in a show of getting comfortable.

"Fine." She huffs in frustration as she reaches into her pocket pulling out Elena's necklace where she dangles it in front of her. "Do you recognize this, hmm?" He doesn't say anything because it's obvious that he does. "A little birdy told me that Klaus wants to get his hands on it."

"What would Klaus want with Elena's necklace?" That just didn't make sense. Who really cares about an old as crap silver ball from god knows where?

"Does it matter?" _Yes._ Damon thinks automatically. It does matter, if Klaus wants it so bad he could've very well been tracking it down, he could very well find out that Elena is still alive thus leading him to Mystic Falls to find and also finding Adele who he's left in Mystic Falls, alone and unprotected. What the fuck? Why is he always such an idiot? "He wants it, and I have it. It's leverage, Damon. Always stay one step ahead of your enemy."

"I'll keep that in mind." He mummers. His mind is running in all different directions because part of him is telling him to go running back but another part of him says there's something else she's about to tell him, something he needs to hear.

"But more importantly, when I stole the necklace from Bonnie, I found out something else...Something better." She tells him perking his curiosity because he knew that there had to be more. She moves towards the trunk of the car.

"Oh yeah?" He makes a point to make himself sound non-interested. "What's that?"

"Are you willing to do whatever it takes to stop Klaus? No turning back?"

"I'm not turning back." He was already here. Adele was already going to be pissed at him; he might as well finish what he's started in the hopes that it could help keep them safe.

"Good because this isn't going to win you any points at home." She says opening the truck and he moves towards her peering into it with a sense of irritation and annoyance.

"Jeremy?" He looks away from the unconscious boy to look at Katherine. "Really?" Because he really needed to give Adele anymore reason to dump him.

*VD*

She's standing in-between Klaus and Elena, Elena's hand gripping hers tight enough that she's starting to lose feeling in it. They're watching Dana, Adele willing her to just hold on a little longer and when she almost loses her balance Adele's heart rate spikes as Klaus mutters a 'keep it up.'

"Where's Stefan?" Elena asks trying hard to keep the tremble out of her voice. "What did you do to him?"

"Stefan's on a time out." Klaus remarks as the gym doors open. They turn and Elena's eyes widen because she doesn't need any more people she cares about wondering into this unknown danger to them.

"Bonnie, get out of here!" She yells and Bonnie looks up in surprise slowing to a stop as she takes in the scene before her. Klaus is behind her in an instant causing her to whirl around and she thought she was scared of Damon in that past but that was nothing compared to this feeling. The fear was almost consuming, making her knees feel weak as she looks up at the hybrid nightmare they've all been trying to avoid.

"Ah, I was wondering when you'd show up. Now we can get started." He looks back towards Dana and Chad. "Dana, why don't you relax? You and Chad sit tight." Dana falls with a cry of relief Chad catching her effortlessly and easing her to the ground. Adele turns away from them to look back at Klaus who has his full attention on Bonnie. Matt has moved around, standing close to Elena and her as if by some miracle he'd be able to protect her. "I assume you're the reason Elena's still walking around alive?"

"That's right." She says tilting her chin up trying to console the fear swirling in her chest. "If you want to blame someone, blame me."

"Oh, there's no need for blame, love. Just your witchy interference seems to have caused some undesirable side effects. And since you caused the problem, I'm going to have you find the fix." The gym doors slam open and they all turn watching as some random blonde they don't know comes barreling in pushing Tyler along with her.

"Get off me!" He snaps trying to fight her off but she's stronger then him, a lot stronger then him.

"Hush now." She tells him and Adele realizes with a start that this has to be another original. Elijah said there were more of them.

"I'd like you all to meet my sister Rebekah." The blonde sends them all a secret smile. "Word of warning... She can be quite mean."

"Don't be an ass." She pushes Tyler to Klaus who catches him easily. Adele's heart rate is once again spiking as Elena tells Klaus to leave him alone only for him to ignore her and pull him along with him as he moves to stand in front of them all.

"I'm going to make this very simple... Every time I attempt to turn a werewolf into a vampire hybrid, they die during the transition. It's quite horrible, actually." He brings his wrist to his mouth where he bites at it before pressing the bleeding wound to Tyler's mouth forcing him to drink.

"I need you to find a way to save my hybrids, Bonnie." Adele meets Tyler's terrified gaze feeling more helpless then she has in a while. "And for Tyler's sake... You better hurry." In one swift movement Klaus breaks his neck causing gasps and a scream from the group and Adele realizes that it's her who screamed as she drops to her knees moving to him quickly. She grabs his shirt.

"No." She cries baring her face into his chest crying harder when she can't hear his heartbeat. He's dead. Tyler's dead and while of course he was going to come back, there was that whole dying during transition. There was that big, _huge_ possibility that Tyler was just dead.

*VD*

Adele's not sure how long they've sat there. Her tears have stopped and she picked herself up enough to drag Tyler into her lap and Matt was kneeling next to them while Bonnie stood behind them and Elena paced. Dana and Chad we're still there as well and Adele wonders briefly where the hell Caroline is.

"He killed him." Matt says breaking the silence that had fallen. He still couldn't believe it.

"He's not dead. Klaus's blood will turn him into a vampire." Elena reminds them causing Adele to glare back at her. That was if Bonnie could do what Klaus was saying and that was a big _if._

"And if Bonnie's successful, he'll live through his transition. Go on, then. Go and fetch your grimoire and enchantments and what-not. I'll hold on to Elena...For safe-keeping." Bonnie looks down to Adele and Klaus noticed right away. "She stays to." She doesn't want to leave them there but with no idea on how to help them besides doing what Klaus is telling her to do she leads Matt out of the gym.

Leaving them alone with Klaus and Rebekah and Rebekah comes up behind Elena circling around her as if studying her. "So this is the latest doppelgänger." She says tilting her head before shrugging. "The original one was much prettier."

"Doppelgänger means double of one's self." Adele says causing the two originals and her sister to look over at her. "There's no such thing as being 'much prettier'."

"And who exactly are you?" Adele pushes herself up sending one last glance down at Tyler before looking back to Rebekah who is studying her much like she had Elena.

"I'm the Doppelgängers twin."

"Twin?" Rebekah glances between the two before letting out a small laugh. "Well…" She looks back at Elena. "It looks like someone got the short end of the stick yes?" Elena glares hatefully at her as Adele raises an eyebrow. Klaus wipes the grin from his face.

"Enough Rebekah, take the wolf boy elsewhere, would you?" Rebekah rolls her eyes moving over to grab Tyler by the arm.

"Cute outfit by the way." She calls as she's dragging him out. "Killer shoes." Adele looks over to Klaus with a confused and baffled expression much like the one Elena had given her earlier. He merely shrugs his grin back in place.

*VD*

Damon lets Jeremy drop onto the picnic table, there are times in life when having to play bad guy royally sucks ass and this was one of those times. "I'm listening."

"What if I told you there was a way to kill Klaus?" Damon narrows his eyes into silts. She couldn't be serious right? "And not Dagger dead. Dead, dead."

"I'd say you were desperate and lying, or drunk, or desperate, lying and drunk." He tells her turning around. She's sitting on the other picnic table, her feet swinging back and forth carelessly.

"Do you remember my friend Pearl?"

"Vividly." Damon says in a tone that suggests the name brought nothing but unpleasant memories to him. Pearl had been the leader so to say of the tomb vampires when they we're freed, by complete accident of course. Anna had used Adele's blood to bring her dear mother back from mummification which was one reason for him to hate her. Pearl had gauged his eyes out which was another thing he could hate her for and she had lost all control over a few of her vampires leading to them kidnapping Stefan and almost killing Adele which was just another reason for him to hate her. She was dead now though.

"Centuries ago, she told me about a vampire who knew how to kill Klaus. Then she wouldn't tell me anymore."

"Well why not?"

"Because it was her leverage." Katherine explains. "She knew it was valuable information, and wouldn't share it with me."

Damon was feeling like this conversion was completely pointless. "Well, this is all great... But she's dead."

"Which is why I never brought it up because she only ever told one other person."

"Who?"

"Her daughter, Anna."

Damon almost groans. "Also dead."

"Which brings us back around to…"

"To me." Katherine and Damon glance over in surprise, how long as the Gilbert boy been awake? "Back around to me."

*VD*

Elena is kneeling down beside Dana while Adele stands behind her, her arms crossed over her chest as if daring Klaus to make a move not that she could really stop him because she couldn't. This is one situation in which she can say that she can't do anything.

The gym is silent.

Klaus is obviously waiting on something.

The gym door opens and they look over in time to see Stefan and Adele realizes he is probably what Klaus has been waiting for. "Stefan." Elena mutters standing up but Stefan barely spares them a glance, his focus completely on Klaus. The sight of him leaves Elena feeling winded as it had every time she'd been able to see even a 2 second glance at him this summer.

"Klaus." He calls.

"Come to safe your damsel Mate?" He calls in a surprisingly soft voice. He seemed…slightly betrayed, hurt, Adele was surprised to notice.

"I came to ask for your forgiveness. And pledge my loyalty." Adele's eyebrows rise as Elena glances back at her surprise flicking in her brown orbs.

"Well, you broke that pledge once already." More betrayal and hurt seeping into his expression and Adele wonders if she's the only one noticing. Probably, Elena was too focused on Stefan and Stefan was too focused on not getting killed that they weren't actually paying any attention to the hybrid but as a complete fourth party with absolutely nothing to do with the situation besides to sit there and look pretty, she was able to focus on these things. The evil vampire hybrid had thought he actually had a friend in Stefan but Stefan had been lying to him the whole time. _Interesting._

"Elena means nothing to me anymore." Adele uncrosses her arms watching her sister take a small step back as if she'd been punched. "And whatever you ask of me... I will do."

"Fair enough." He's perked up immediately, bouncing up from his seat on the bleachers and down to the gym floor. "Let's drink on it. Kill them." He points over to Dana and Chad moving closer to them as well. Stefan doesn't move. "What are you waiting for? Kill them."

"No! Stefan, don't." Elena calls. "He's not going to hurt me. He already said," Adele jumps with a gasps as Klaus _back hands_ Elena sending her spiraling to the Gym floor. She quickly moves over to her to see if she's okay as Stefan roars out a no rushing forward as if to attack Klaus but he catches him by the throat making them realizes that whole scene was just a test and Stefan failed.

"She means nothing to you? Your lies just keep piling up." Klaus remarks.

"Let them go! I'll do whatever you want, you have my word!" Stefan chokes his hands wrapped around Klaus's wrist but his iron tight grip doesn't loosen.

"Your word doesn't mean much. I lived by your word all summer, during which time I never had to resort to this..." Klaus's pupils dilate and for a split second Stefan's expression becomes blank. "Stop fighting," But he is fighting, though his hands have dropped and he's completely still.

"Don't do this, don't do this." He begs.

"I didn't want to. All I wanted was your allegiance. Now I'm going to have to take it." His pupils dilate once more as Stefan is muttering at him not to. "You will do exactly as I say when I say it. You will not run, you will not hide, you will simply just obey."

"No." Elena whimpers as Klaus lets him go and he stands there looking dazed. "Stefan."

"Now kill them." He swings in arm out to Dana and Chad. "Ripper."

He goes after Dana first, ripping into her neck and Adele has to turn away closing her eyes. For god sakes, she was not supposed to witness one her friends be ripped apart. Who was ever supposed to witness that? A few tears manage to escape as she listens to the impact of Dana's body hitting the gym floor.

*VD*

"This isn't going to work." Jeremy tells them. He could hardly believe that when he woke up he found Katherine and _Damon_. Together, somewhere that was not Mystic Falls and they kidnapped him. He didn't want to be around when Adele found out about this. He'd lived with her for 16 years to know something like that wasn't just going to fly in her book. She was going to get mad, pissed and she was going to go after Damon. He may not want to be around to see it but that doesn't mean he's not going to tell her that is if she doesn't find out on her own.

Jeremy's cell phone buzzes in Katherine's hand and she opens the incoming text from Bonnie. _Where are u? _She scoffs looking up towards Jeremy with a taunting smirk. "I think your witchy girlfriends worried you've run off with your ghostly lover." She holds out his phone to him only to pull it back when he makes a move for it.

"Stop with the teeny bopper drama." Seriously he was one step away from being so annoyed he would start snapping necks. "Focus." He tells Jeremy who sighs and closes his eyes. His eyes open and he turns around.

"No it's okay to help." He says softly and Katherine and Damon glance at each other. This was totally weird. Damon wonders if Adele knows about her brother's weird ability which just brings him back to the pressing issues of what he's done. Even if she doesn't know, he sure isn't going to be the one telling her, hopefully this little road trip is one thing he can keep her in the dark about. "They're looking for a way to stop Klaus."

"What is she saying?" Damon demands.

"She doesn't want to help you."

Damon tilts his head up as Katherine leans against the table next to him. "My advice? If you want to make an omelet, you have to break a few eggs." Damon sighs hopping off the table.

"Jeremy, I just want you to know, it's nothing personal." Because saying that was going to make doing this so much better. Jeremy sends him a confused look just before Damon hits him in the back of the head hard enough to cause him to hit his forehead against the picnic table leaving an angry gash.

"Ow! What the hell?" Jeremy exclaims as Damon grabs him by the back of the neck. Oh yeah, he's so telling Adele. You know what they say, payback's a bitch.

"Anna, I know you can hear me. Tell us what you know. The sooner the better for your little boyfriend here."

"Mikael!" Jeremy sudden yells and Damon lets him go.

"Mikael. Is that his name?" Katherine sounds very much eager as she comes forward to stand with Damon.

"Who's Mikael?" Damon asks and when Jeremy doesn't say anything at first he grows impatient. "What is she saying?" He slaps him upside the head lightly compared to the hit he took before.

"He's a vampire and a Hunter, and you guys would be idiots to wake him." He looks back to Anna with a confused expression. "What do you mean wake him?"

"It's time to go find the keys." Damon says turning as Katherine hums her agreement.

*VD*

"It's always nice to see a vampire in his true element. The species has become such a broody lot." Klaus is saying to them standing next to Adele who is standing behind Elena who is sitting on the floor. There watching Stefan just _devour _Chad, because it was all they could do.

"No." Elena shakes her head. "You did this to him."

"I invited him to the party, love. He's the one dancing on the table."

The gym door smashes open and Adele has the urge to scream, she swears that is officially the worst noise she's ever heard –the opening of a door. They turn watching as Rebekah is barreling towards them.

"Where is it?! Where's my necklace?" She demands to a confused Elena who is now standing, baffled by the raging original and terrified at the same time. This just didn't look like it could end well for her.

"What are you talking about?" Klaus takes it upon himself to ask.

"She has my necklace. Look." She shoves her phone at him as she's passing not bothering to stop.

"Well, well. More lies." He sings looking towards Stefan.

"Where is it?" She demands to Elena.

"I don't have it anymore." Elena tells her but Rebekah refuses to believe her.

"You're lying!" She vamps out with the whole veiny eyed look and attacks Elena, biting into her neck but Klaus rips her off causing Elena to once again spiral to the floor.

"Knock it off!" He snaps at his sister.

"Make her tell me where it is, Nik!" Klaus rolls his eyes, like dealing with his sister's fits was an everyday thing which it could very well be. Her high pitched whine was enough to have Adele's skin crawling but knowing her temper, that wasn't surprising. He turns to Elena bending down in front of her and she cowers back holding her hand to the bleeding wound on her neck.

"Where's the necklace, sweetheart? Be honest." Before his doppelgänger can answer him her blonde twin is stepping between them slowly causing him to back up and stand. She's glaring at the two originals and Klaus is impressed.

"She's telling the truth." She says, her back straight and her chin tilted up and it wasn't just a show to make her look brave and fearless, no. She was in fact not in the least bit afraid of them in that moment. He realizes that attacking her sister has wiped all fear from the blonde and now she's left pissed. "Katherine stole it." She looks towards Rebekah. "If you want to throw a bitch fit at someone, throw it at her."

"Katerina. Of course. Well, that's unfortunate." He sends her a dazzling smile that has absolutely no effect. "If we had the necklace it would make things a whole lot easier for your witch, but since we're doing this the hard way, let's put a clock on it, shall we?" He points to the game clock before moving towards the table to set it and as he pushes a button, 20 minutes appears with a buzz. "20 minutes. If Bonnie hasn't found a solution by then, I want you to feed again." He's moved towards Stefan a smirk gracing his lips. "Only this time, I want you to feed on Elena. You know you want to."

Adele closes her eyes, fist clinching tightly. She looks back at Elena who is staring up at her in horror. "Klaus!" She calls turning back to the hybrid. "Don't do that to him."

"You two don't leave." He points to Elena. "If she tries to run, fracture her spine." As he's walking past he grabs a hold of her arm and she's whipped around, Elena yelling her name. "You my little Fireball are coming with me." Adele turns her head back to Elena with wide eyes as Klaus drags her from the gym with Rebekah following close behind them.

*VD*

"Don't fall asleep Jer. You might have a concussion." Damon remarks returning from finding the keys and seeing Jeremy falling sleep against his hand.

"Thanks for the concern Dick." Jeremy snaps because seriously, he can't see why his sister is dating this guy.

"Oh, stop pouting." Katherine sings. "You took one for the team. Everyone back home will thank you once Klaus is dead."

"Where's my phone Katherine?" He'd taken it out of his pocket after Adele's call, saw she left a voicemail and planned on listening to it when he had a chance, now he had a chance and he wanted to listen to it and his phone is nowhere to be seen. Katherine had snatched it when he wasn't paying attention.

"Do you need to check in with Adele? Make sure it's okay you pummeled her little baby bro?" She remarks but Damon gives her a flat stare not in the least bit humored.

"You know you have it."

"What can I say? I needed you present here and now."

"Katherine," He all but snaps sick and tired off all her games. "Phone, now."

She sighs taking the device out of her pocket and handing it over, he takes it seeing the voicemail was still the present thing on his screen but he sees that he now has a few texts as well. "Just remember what we're focused on Damon." Katherine says but he barely hears her as he calls his voicemail, just wanting to hear her voice even if she was yelling at him.

"_Damon." _She lets out an audible sigh and he closes his eyes, he can see her perfectly sitting in the middle of his bed in her tank top and boy shorts with her hair with her hair thrown up into a messy bun, blonde curls falling into her face no matter how many times she swipes at them with the phone pressed between her ear and her shoulder as she paints her toenails even though he's sure that's not what she's doing. _"I was really hoping you'd answer but I guess I should have been expecting you weren't going to. I just…I just want to know where you are. I'm worried. You didn't tell me you we're leaving. I feel like you didn't care enough to let me know some way that you we're leaving town, to let me know when you'd be back. I know I'm supposed to be mad at you Damon, but I just…I'm worried about you and I miss you. So please just call me or something. I love you." _

He opens his eyes pulling the phone away as the message ends, feeling the sudden guilt eating away at him. How could she think he doesn't care? This was a mistake even if it was widely successful and informational because now they knew of a way to kill Klaus but still he should be home, with her. He wants to go home. He wants to explain everything to her.

"How sweet." Katherine sends him a sarcastic smirk and he glares before turning his attention to the text his brows furrowing when he sees who there from.

"Bonnie's been texting me." He says out loud more for Jeremy then Katherine and Jeremy knows that something is wrong if Bonnie is texting Damon. Bonnie would never text Damon unless it was life or death.

"What is it?" He asks.

"It's Klaus." Damon's tone holds dread, worry, panic and a few other emotions that Katherine can't pin-point as he pockets the phone. A new determination has inched its way across his face and Katherine can see his intentions clearly.

"No turning back Damon." She reminds him.

"Shut up, Katherine." He snaps. How was he supposed to stay there when Klaus is in town and has figured out Elena is alive? That puts her in danger. That puts Adele in danger.

"Hey, look at the big picture. The best shot at taking out Klaus is by finding Mikael." She's trying hard to reason with him but he's not hearing her as he pushes the keys off to Jeremy.

"Stay here with her, so Anna can guide you. I'm going back." He pushes passed Katherine moving towards the highway.

"You're going to get yourself killed!" Katherine calls after him in one last attempt to stop him. "The Damon I remember wouldn't have been that stupid." Damon stops and for a second she thinks she has him but when he turns back with a half sided smirk, she knows she's wrong.

"I wouldn't have done it for you." She presses her lips together. Yes, because it all comes back down to _her. _

*VD*

She rips her arm from his grip moving ahead of him in an angry pace. He watches her. In all his years he's never seen someone stand up against him so blindly, never seen someone with such a wild attitude. He doesn't know the human, but there's a certain fondness there, a fondness that would grow if he didn't get a hold of it.

She's incredibly smart, having been the first one to figure out how he was making his moves against them when he took over the history teacher. She was brave by the way she stood up against him and Rebekah. She was sassy that was written in her walk, in the sway of her hips as she angrily storms down the hall way. She's loyal and loving that much he could tell by the way she protected her sister and cried for her fallen friend, he realized when he killed the wolf boy that she must have been the closest to him in the room for it hurt her far more than the rest. And she was beautiful. Insanely beautiful, even he couldn't go unaffected by how attractive she was.

Damon Salvatore had to be the luckiest son of a bitch to ever walk the plant and yet where was he?

"I don't think we've properly met…" He calls out and she comes to an abrupt halt spinning around to face him with her hands on her hips and her hip poked outward. He can't help but smirk.

"No your right, I don't think we have. You've been too busy torturing and killing my family and friends to be a _proper_ evil hybrid now haven't you?" He laughs. He out right laughs and she looks baffled by it and she's hating herself for thinking that it was a nice sound. One that she actually found herself liking, she even has the urge to smile but fights it. He had a boyish laugh that matched his overall boyish grin. For an evil hybrid, he sure had a cute smile.

Still chuckling he ushers her forward. "Come now, love. Let's find your witch." She doesn't bother telling him that Bonnie isn't _her_ witch. Why would she do that? That would be throwing Jasmine under the bus and she wasn't willing to do that. It was one thing dealing with vampire hunters; it was another dealing with the one vampire in the entire world that even James couldn't beat.

When they find Bonnie and Matt Adele frowns at their appearance though they haven't noticed them. They're sopping wet, towel wrapped around their shoulders. What the hell? Did they decide a late night swim was in order? Maybe help clear their minds while Elena life is on a timer? Adele could just picture the hour glass, the grains of sand dropping slowly, mocking them one by one.

"The hybrids can't transition because Elena's still alive." Matt is telling Bonnie when they reach them.

"Tyler…" Bonnie whispers.

"He's going to die isn't he?" Matt asks in a broken voice. Tyler was his best friend. He's lost his sister; he didn't want to lose his best friend to.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Klaus speaks up causing the two to whip around. Bonnie eyes him before spotting Adele and she openly frowns. "Given the choice, doppelgänger or a hybrid, I go hybrid every time."

*VD*

He's leading her back towards the gym. Has the timer run out? Adele's not sure but she sure as hell hopes not because he would be leading her into the bloody mess of her sister and she just didn't want to see that.

But as they turn a corner Adele sees with relief that that isn't going to be the scene she walks in on. Elena is standing behind a door peering out the small window obviously out of breath, like she'd been running. The timer must've ran out, Stefan must've gone after her. Klaus rushes up to her and Adele jogs to get to them as she turns around bumping into his chest.

"We've got to stop meeting like this." He grins before it falls and he grabs her arm much like he had done to her before and begins dragging her through the halls. She runs after them following them as he drags her sister into the cafeteria where Stefan has just shoved some broken piece of wood through his gut.

"Now this is fascinating." Stefan turns his expression full of pain. "I've never seen this before. The only thing stronger than your craving for blood is your love for this one girl. Why don't you turn it off?"

"No." He grunts out and Klaus moves towards a table taking a seat on top of it.

"Come on! Your humanity is killing you. All the guilt must be exhausting. Turn it off."

"No." Stefan repeats.

"You're strong." Klaus leaves the table, moving over to Stefan where he yanks the wooden piece out throwing it off to the side and rolls to Adele's feet. "But you're not that strong. Turn...it...Off."

Stefan stares at him making Elena hold her breath before she lets it out in relief as he roughly pushed the hybrid back. "No!" Klaus shoves him against a wall, a hand to his throat, his pupil's dilate and Stefan's expression turns blank once more.

"Turn it off!" And suddenly Stefan's not fighting. He sags against the wall, his body relaxing but his expression remaining blank.

"What did you do?" Elena demands.

"I fixed him." Klaus states staring at Stefan like he was his best piece of art. "But I think a test is in order, don't you?" He walks to Elena, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Ripper…" He calls. "Perhaps you'd like a drink…" He brushes the hair covering her open wound from her neck. "From the doppelgänger's neck?"

Stefan's face changes as he's looking at Elena and she's shaking her head, pleading with her eyes but he doesn't notice or doesn't care as he rushes forward tearing into her neck as she screams at the sheer mind numbing pain and Klaus is watching on smirking as Elena is slowly losing energy.

"Ripper! Here, Ripper!" Stefan rips away from Elena's neck turning his head to the sudden voice. It's Adele and she's holding the broken wooden piece that had rolled to her feet. Klaus frowns at her, having forgotten she was there. She grins widely as she uses it to cut open her palm, making a long gash that is instantly dripping blood. Stefan watches it, watches the blood hit the floor, watches it slide down her arm as she holds it up waving it at him. "Come get it." She sings.

"Stefan…" Klaus is calling but he's already in front of her grabbing her by the waist and ripping into her neck like he'd done to Elena but she doesn't scream, only gasps as she pushes against his shoulders. She can feel the very life being sucked out of her, it was excruciating. Her eyes fall closed as she stops fighting just as he's ripped away from her thrown across the cafeteria like a ragdoll. "Damn it Stefan!" Klaus snaps bending down to the fallen girl. She's not dead but without help she will be. What a stupid move. What had he been thinking early? Loyal? Blindly loyal it would seem.

*VD*

Where the hell we're all the nurses?

He understands that it's after hours and everything but aren't there supposed to be nurses on shift? He couldn't find a damn one as he's racing through the halls looking into every room. He'd already found Elena, she was having the blood sucked out of her but the blood bag was mysteriously gone along with Klaus who had tried to kill him in the parking a lot only to flee in a hurry when he's mentioned Mikael to him, which just means they're on to something.

But he couldn't worry about that, Adele was in here somewhere and he couldn't fucking find her. He was ready to tear his hair out. Klaus had obviously wanted her to be hard to find.

Finally, he sees a nurse and makes himself jog over to her. "Hey!" The nurse turns eyeing him. "Adele Gilbert. What room is she in?"

"Visiting hours are…"

Damon's pupils dilate and the woman cuts off. "What room is she in?" The nurse points to a closed door down the hall and he rushes away from her, towards the door. He flings it open and has to stop himself from sliding down the door frame with his head in his hands.

She's unconscious, the heart monitor beeping steadily. The usual IV's are hooked up to her but also blood. She's having blood transfusions. There's a bandage on her neck. She'd gotten attacked.

He moves into the room over to her bed. God, he should have never left. He bites his wrist pressing it to her lips and letting the crimson liquid flow into her mouth before he begins pulling the IV's from her.

"Damon…" She whimpers and he throws the covers from her hooking an arm under her legs and throwing her arm over his shoulders.

"Shh." He kisses her forehead. "We're going home."

*VD*

He'd refused to let her walk into the house and instead had carrying her up to the bedroom, dropping her onto the bed and demanding she get comfortable because she wasn't leaving, so she kicked off her shoes and stripped out of her jeans before crawling under the comforter, propping herself up against the pillows and pulling her legs up under her waiting for him to get back.

When he does return he's holding a glass of Bourbon, his cure for everything. "Drink this." He tells her and she peers into the glass blankly before taking a slow sip of it, it burns going down but that's okay, it was better than the memory of the bite. "What happened?" He asks taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "Did Klaus attack you?" Because that's what everyone besides Stefan, Klaus and herself thinks, they know the truth. That's she's just a very stupid girl. At least that's what Klaus had been muttering when he'd walked her into the hospital. She'd been in and out of consciousness, at first she thought it was a dream when she looked up at saw the hybrids face, his hard expression swimming before her.

"No." She shakes her head. "Klaus…didn't do anything to me. He probably saved me again." Damon frowns at her, confused. "Stefan attacked me Damon. Klaus compelled him to turn off his humanity and feed from Elena so to stop him I cut myself and taunted him. I can only guess that Klaus stopped him before he could kill me because he had every intention to. I could see it in his eyes when he looked at me."

"You did it again." Damon mutters pushing his hands through his hair.

"I did what again?" Adele downs the rest of the liquid in the glass.

"You left yourself for dead so Elena could survive." He runs one of his hands over his face and Adele realizes besides his clam tone that he's frustrated and angry. "I hate it when you do that."

"Well what was I supposed to do? Let him kill her?" She places the glass on the bedside table with a sigh before leaning back, her eyes swiping over Damon's face as her fingers begin to pick at a loose threat on the comfort. "Where were you, Damon?" She whispers almost brokenly and his blue eyes immediately light up with guilt.

"I shouldn't have left." He whispers back, his fingers reaching up to brush across her jaw. "I promise you. I will never leave you again." He draws her lips to his, kissing her so softly and she almost cries at the sheer delight it brings her. It had been two days. Two days since there fight, two days since they've even seen each other and two days since he's kissed her.

Two days wasn't that long but it felt like forever.

It made her realize that what she'd said to Jasmine, that she needed to be able to go on without him if need be was all talk. How could she possibly go on if something happened to him when he was everything that held her together? He was everything she wanted and everything she needed and if she lost him, she can't say she wouldn't lose herself as well.

Her arm slings around his neck as she pulls herself forward, easily molding her body into his. A sudden and slightly unwanted thought plunges her mind, a thought that has her pulling away. "Tyler…" She mummers completely breathless.

"Okay. He's okay. He's going to be okay." Damon assures her. He'd talked to Elena downstairs while he was fetching the glass of alcohol for her. He'd given one to the brunette as well and offered to make her forget everything she doesn't want to remember and while she looked like she wanted to consider it, she'd declined saying that she _needed_ to remember.

She'd asked him where he was to.

He'd told her he'd tell her later when the aftermath of today was over but that he was sorry, that if he'd known he would've been there by their side. He would've protected them. Stefan had chosen that moment in time to walk in. He claimed that while Klaus was gone, he'd asked him to keep a watchful eye on Elena until he returns and after he'd left Elena quickly didn't want to think or talk about it and asked about Tyler.

He called Bonnie.

Tyler was saved by Elena's blood. As it would turn out Elena's blood was the key to making Hybrids. Those pesky witches that put the curse on Klaus we're doing everything to make sure he'd never make one but they could have never anticipated that the doppelgänger would survive the sacrifice making it actually possible for Klaus to create his hybrids. Basically in saving Elena, they insured that Klaus could build his army of ruthless hybrids and now…they are screwed. They are all royally, royally screwed, but he's not going to tell her that. All he's going to tell her for tonight is that Tyler is okay.

"He's okay." Adele laughs and she's kissing him again, his arms moving securely around her as she shifts into his lap. He knows he should probably stop her as she begins to unbutton his shirt because she needs to rest but…he's missed her to fucking much and how in the world was he supposed to deny her anything? How does one ever deny Adele Gilbert want she wants? That might actually be a problem they should address in the near future. When it comes to the blue eyed blonde, it was about time they all learned the word "No". Or maybe it was actually just a Damon problem.

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**Another Klaus and Adele interaction done. xD I happen to love writing those, though they are small I feel like there powerful. They pack a punch don't you think? Anyways, so what did you guys think? What about Rebekah finally coming into the story? I happen to love Rebekah, I think she's amazing. Damon's doomed, doomed to forever mess up, I swear. He better be glad Adele loves him. ;) **

**I would like a good amount of reviews for this chapter, to tell me what everyone thought, tell me if you guys like the direction in which this story is going. Tell me if you guys have anything you'd like to see happen. I happen to like the idea of Adele and Damon getting a pet. Seems like a fun advantage all on its own. xD **

* * *

**Previews for the next chapter: **

**Adele's "bitch mode" is activated with the arrival of Stefan and Rebekah at the boarding house. (Adele to Rebekah, "You aren't taking anything from me, sweetheart.")**

**Insecurities arise when Adele finds out exactly who it was that Damon took off with. **

**And **

**The gang comes up with a plan to "help" Stefan.**


End file.
